ISL 2017: 5 Indian stars who went unsold in the draft
The Indian Super League (ISL) draft saw 134 players getting picked up by 10 teams for the upcoming and the biggest ISL season of all time. Over 200 players were involved in the draft pick but with most of the teams already retaining two players, over 70 players could not find a club for the 2017 season. The salaries of all the players participating in the process were already fixed but due to the budget constraints and the differing needs for each side, some big names had to miss out on finding a new club.
Teams had the option of signing up to 18 Indian players in the draft and had a transfer kitty of 12.5 crore rupees. Not all the teams splashed the cash around in the draft pick with a majority of the money being reserved for some big foreign names. Signing young Indian talents was the flavour of the draft as many experienced Indian campaigners saw themselves not getting selected in any side out of ten. Here is a list of the 5 Indian stars who shockingly went unsold in the draft:
#5 Sandip Nandy
The majority of the teams were behind an experienced custodian between the posts and accordingly spent a considerable amount on finding a top goalkeeper for their side. Despite this, a player having the experience and the skill set like Sandip Nandy going unsold came as a big surprise.
The 42-year-old had a base price of 36 lakh rupees and was expected to sign for one of the newer sides in the league. The man having 18 years of experience at the highest level was hoping to play for at least two more years and could have been a good leader for any side in the competition.