IPL 2019: One unsold player who each franchise could have bought
The 12th edition of the IPL is set to kick off on 23rd March and the preparations of teams are going on in full swing. The world's toughest T20 league requires preparations well in advance and the coaching staff spent a lot of time thinking about retention choices and negotiating player trades with other teams. Also, they were planning a watchlist of players they wanted to get in the auction though all things didn't go according to plan.
Though minuscule when compared with the previous year's auction, IPL Auction 2019 had its fair share of surprises, anticipation, and shock as the teams battled it out with the batons to secure the services of the players they wanted in their squads.
Few of the major signings were Varun Chakravarthy( KXIP - 8.4 Crore), Jaydev Unadkat (RR - 8.4 Crore), Sam Curran (KXIP -7.2 Crore) and Colin Ingram (DC - 6.4 Crore). Also, Quinton De Kock moved to Mumbai Indians from RCB, Marcus Stoinis was traded for Mandeep Singh and Shikhar Dhawan moved to Delhi in exchange for Vijay Shankar, Shahbaz Nadeem, and Abhishek Sharma.
Though the team sheets have been filled, there will always be regrets for teams that they didn't buy certain players. There were certain options who they opted out from buying when they should have gone for.
These unsold players can come back as replacements and let's take a look at one unsold player who each team should have bought.
Chennai Super Kings - Rajneesh Gurbani
The Chennai Super Kings made only two signings at the auction and the one of Mohit Sharma for INR 5 Crore seems to be overpriced. They also signed batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad. Of the unsold players, one of the most unlucky players was Rajneesh Gurbani for who this a second successive snub at the auction.
Gurbani has been one of the best bowlers in the Ranji Trophy and has impressed everyone with his amazing control and swing. He was a key part of Vidarbha's triumph last season and played a key role in this season's double.
He has picked up 85 wickets from just 25 matches and has also played a lot of T20 cricket in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. CSK have a dearth of good Indian fast bowlers and though they have talented front-line bowlers, there seems to be no seasoned backup for them and Gurbani would've been a cut-price option for the Super Kings.