IPL 2019: Best Unsold XI
The IPL auctions have a history of being full of action, drama and surprises, and the auction for IPL 2019 was no different.
There has been a lot of chaos and uncertainty over a lot of things about IPL 2019, with the final schedule and venue for the tournament still being undecided. That certainly made the task for the franchises even more arduous than usual.
While in all likelihood IPL 2019 will be shifted to South Africa, there has been no confirmation about that. Moreover, some of the big names might not be available for the entire duration of the season due to the impending World Cup.
All these things collectively led to some major surprises at the auction. While some unheard-of names were bought for big bucks, some well-established and proven customers were left scratching their heads after being unsold.
While those players might be thoroughly disappointed with the snub, that is just how the IPL auction pans out every year. A number of factors like availability, utility as a T20 player and past IPL record contributed to these high profile players' failure to attract any bidders at the auction.
Here, we look at the best XI of players who remained unsold at the auction.
#1 Brendon McCullum
The man who set the ball rolling for IPL in the tournament's inaugural match went unsold at the 2019 auction.
The talismanic opener is known for his aggressive batting, and has played some scintillating knocks for the sides he has represented in the cash rich league. His retirement did not affect his demand in the IPL; the former Kiwi skipper was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 2018 auction.
However, he failed to perform as per expectations, scoring just 127 runs in the season, and was eventually released by the franchise. To make things worse for McCullum, he got no buyers at the 2019 auction.