5 players unsold in the IPL 2025 auction who starred in SMAT 2024-25 ft. Shardul Thakur
Mumbai beat Madhya Pradesh by six wickets in the final of the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, December 15.
This was Mumbai's second title in SMAT and they were clearly the best side in the competition. With the tournament's culmination, we now focus on the top-performing stars from SMAT 2024-25 who went unsold in the IPL auction.
Not only upcoming names but some established stars also made a mark on the tournament, but were unlucky to miss out on an IPL contract at the auction last month.
In this listicle, we take a look at five players who were unsold in the auction but did well in SMAT:
#5 KS Bharat (Andhra)
India wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat, who seems to have been sidelined from the Test team after a mediocre run of form with the bat, was at the forefront of the Andhra batting unit in SMAT. He ended the tournament with 307 runs in seven innings at an average of 76.75.
What's more? Bharat scored his runs at an extremely impressive strike rate of 149. He did not find any takers in the auction held earlier this year, and would be extremely disappointed.
#4 Atit Sheth (Baroda)
Atit Sheth comes fourth on this list of players who did well in SMAT but went unsold in the auction earlier this year. The Baroda seamer is known for his nagging line and length, and brutal accuracy, which makes batters extremely uncomfortable.
Sheth picked up 14 wickets in nine matches for Baroda in the tournament, and ended up as the seventh-highest wicket-taker. The 3/41 he picked up against Bengal in the quarterfinal was among his best performances, and he played a major role in Baroda's run to the semifinals.
#3 Shardul Thakur (Mumbai)
India all-rounder Shardul Thakur was extremely unfortunate to not get picked by any franchise in the IPL auction. He was released by Chennai Super Kings, for whom he picked up five wickets last season.
Thakur impressed everyone with his performances in SMAT, picking up 15 wickets in nine matches in Mumbai's title-winning run. The Palghar-born cricketer also ended up on the fourth spot in the leading wicket-takers list, which should serve as a timely reminder to the franchises as to what they missed out on.
#2 Harvik Desai (Saurashtra)
Saurashtra's Harvik Desai was another player who did extremely well in SMAT despite being overlooked by franchises in the IPL auction. The wicketkeeper-batter, who has been in the upper echelons of domestic cricket since his teens (he is 25 now), ended the tournament as the ninth-highest run-getter.
Desai scored a total of 323 runs in eight innings, which included three half-centuries at a strike rate of 152. Saurashtra are extremely fortunate to have him in their ranks - his last two first-class innings were of 99 and 155 runs, respectively.
#1 Urvil Patel (Gujarat)
Gujarat's Urvil Patel enjoyed a brilliant run of form in the SMAT. The opener-wicketkeeper scored 315 runs in six innings and ended the tournament as the tenth-highest run-getter with a mind-boggling strike rate of 229.
Patel scored the fastest T20 ton by an Indian (28 deliveries) in the early stages of the tournament. His 113 not out came off just 35 deliveries as Gujarat chased down a target of 156 against Tripura in Indore.
Patel followed this up with another swashbuckling unbeaten 115 against Uttarakhand a couple of games later. The 26-year-old was released by Gujarat Titans after the 2024 season, and he went unsold in the auction.