5 big players who went unsold in both IPL 2025 and 2024 auctions ft. Sarfaraz Khan
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction recently concluded on Monday, November 25, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Over the two-day event, franchises were a part of intense bidding wars to rope in some of the top cricketing talents into their squads ahead of the new season.
Teams went all out to bring in top players and spent huge amounts as well. Over the two days, as many as 182 players were sold, which included 62 overseas players as well. More than INR 600 crore were spent by all teams combined.
While big names such as Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant etc created massive bidding wars and bagged record deals as expected, franchises also spent heavily on uncapped players at the IPL 2025 auction.
Where several players were sold, there were also many players who did not get any attraction from the franchises as there were no bids placed for them at all. Big names such as David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Prithvi Shaw, and Shardul Thakur among others remained unsold, much to the surprise of many.
As many as 395 players went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction. Among these, there were also some big names who were unsold during the 2024 auction as well. Let us take a look at five such big players who failed to find bidders in both IPL 2025 and 2024 auctions.
5 big players who went unsold in both IPL 2025 and 2024 auctions
#Tabraiz Shamsi (INR 2 crore)
South African left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was a part of the IPL 2025 auction, listed at a base price of INR 2 crore. However, he did not find any bidders and went unsold this time around.
In the 2024 auction, Shamsi had set his base price at INR 50 lakh but was not bought by any team. This year, he remained unsold once again. The 34-year-old has featured in only five matches in the league.
Despite being one of the top T20 spinners going around and bringing in the experience of having played in leagues all around the globe, Shamsi has failed to find any interest from teams in the Indian league.
#Adil Rashid (INR 2 crore)
Another leg-spinner in this list, England's Adil Rashid set a base price of INR 2 crore for himself at the 2025 auction. Similar to Shamsi, Rashid has not been on the radar of franchises as well.
The 36-year-old has featured in only three IPL matches across two seasons. With a same base price in 2024, Adil Rashid failed to find bidders last year as well. While leg-spinners are always in demand in this format, Adil has found it difficult to seek interest from franchises in India.
He has picked up 126 T20I wickets and 354 T20 wickets having played in several leagues such as SA20, BPL, Men's Hundred, and ILT20.
#Finn Allen (INR 2 crore)
Kiwi opener and explosive batter Finn Allen's exclusion from the IPL remains a bit of a mystery in itself. He has amassed 3544 runs from 126 T20s with an impressive strike-rate of 168.60. His T20I numbers are solid as well, having scored 1141 runs from 47 games with a strike-rate of 158.69.
Finn Allen set his base price at INR 2 crore this time around but found no attention from any team. The 25-year-old remained unsold at the 2024 auction as well. He was a part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) but did not play a single game for the franchise.
He has not played a single game in the IPL and for someone of his skill and caliber, franchises not showing interest remains a question-mark.
#Steve Smith (INR 2 crore)
Veteran Australian batter Steve Smith, who had a base price of INR 2 crore, went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction as many would have expected. The star batter remained unsold in 2024 as well.
While Smith has been phenomenal in ODIs and Tests, he was never considered a T20 player. Being a part of teams such as Pune Warriors India, Rising Pune Supergiants, Delhi Capitals, and Rajasthan Royals, Smith has scored 2485 runs from 103 matches with a strike-rate of 128.09.
Overall, he has amassed over 5600 runs in T20s, however, with a strike-rate of 128.84. His average strike-rate in the format is clearly the reason as to why he remained unsold this time around as well.
#Sarfaraz Khan (INR 75 lakh)
Despite having a base price of just INR 75 lakh, Sarfaraz Khan remained unsold at the IPL 2025 auction, much to everyone's surprise. Interestingly, he failed to find any bidders in 2024 as well.
He last appeared in 2023 for the Delhi Capitals and managed only 53 runs from four matches. Overall, he has played 50 matches and has scored 585 runs at an average of 22.50 and strike-rate of 130.58.
Despite having the ability to play unique and unorthodox shots, Sarfaraz has failed to make it big in the IPL over the years. His overall T20 numbers - 1188 runs from 74 innings at an average of 22.41 and strike-rate of 128.29 - do not support his cause either.