Picking an unsold playing 11 with impact sub from IPL 2025 Auction ft. David Warner and Shardul Thakur
The two-day IPL 2025 auction concluded in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, November 25. A total of 182 players were sold at the auction, with 62 of them being overseas cricketers. While eight Right to Match (RTM) options were used, the 10 teams combined spent a total of ₹639.15 crore.
Several records were created at the mega auction. Keeper-batter Rishabh Pant became the costliest player in IPL auction history. He was purchased by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a whopping ₹27 crore. Star batter Shreyas Iyer went to Punjab Kings (PBKS) for ₹26.75 crore. He is now second on the list of most expensive players bought in an IPL auction.
Meanwhile, Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest player to bag an IPL deal. The Bihar cricketer (only 13 years and 243 days) was purchased by Rajasthan Royals (RR) for ₹1.10 crore.
Even as 180-plus players were purchased at the IPL 2025 auction, several prominent names went unsold. On that note, let's take a look at an XI of players picked from those who went unsold at the mega auction.
Top order: David Warner (c), Prithvi Shaw, Jonny Bairstow
The trio of David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, and Jonny Bairstow can form a formidable top order in the IPL, particularly when in form. Warner has a tremendous record in the Indian T20 league. In 184 matches, he has amassed 6,565 runs at an average of 40.52 and a strike rate of 139.77, with four hundreds and 62 fifties.
Bairstow has opened with Warner in the IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the past and the two formed a terrific duo. Bairstow's skills can be utilized at the top of the order as he is adept at making use of the powerplay. Looking at his IPL record, he has scored 1,589 runs at an average of 34.54 and a strike rate of 144.45, with two hundreds and nine fifties.
Shaw has been in the news for the wrong reasons lately. He was dropped from his domestic team, Mumbai, reportedly over fitness issues. Still, it was surprising that the 25-year-old went unsold at the mega auction. Shaw is undoubtedly one of the most talented batters in the country who needs to be groomed. He has a strike rate of 147.47 in the IPL from 79 matches.
Middle order & all-rounders: Sarfaraz Khan, Anmolpreet Singh, Lalit Yadav, Jason Holder, Shardul Thakur
With most of the big Indian names sold at the auction, it was tough putting together a decent middle order. Sarfaraz Khan does not have a great record in the IPL, but he has the talent without a doubt. The 27-year-old needs a few good knocks in the T20 format to get his rhythm going.
Punjab batter Anmolpreet Singh can be used as a floater in the batting order. He has a strike rate of nearly 130 in the T20 format from 53 innings, which includes a hundred. The 26-year-old has represented Mumbai Indians (MI) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL, but his talent is yet to be tapped.
Lalit Yadav, Jason Holder, and Shardul Thakur can be the all-rounders in the unsold playing XI picked from the IPL 2025 auction list. Lalit can contribute handy cameos and chip in with a few wickets with his off-spin. Holder and Thakur are proven pace-bowling all-rounders. Like the case with Shaw, it was also a surprise that Thakur did not find any takers at the mega auction.
Bowlers: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, Piyush Chawla
Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Piyush Chawla can be the frontline spin bowlers in the unsold playing XI from the IPL 2025 auction, while left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya can open the bowling with either Thakur or Holder.
Afghanistan off-spinner Mujeeb has over 250 T20 wickets at an economy rate of under seven. As for veteran leg-spinner Chawla, he is the second-leading wicket-taker in the IPL, with 192 scalps from 192 matches at an average of 26.60 and an economy rate of 7.96. Sakariya is also a wicket-taking bowler with 65 wickets in 45 T20 innings at an average of 20.16.
Impact player options: Mayank Agarwal, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Mayank Dagar