Top 5 superstars who surprisingly went unsold in the IPL auction

Loud, ceremonious, crazy and bizarre. That was how the IPL 8 auctions went. Perhaps most franchises got the players they wanted though it has to be admitted that some walked away happier than the others. In the end, some teams do look very strong on paper. But there were also some strange decisions made and crazy bids launched that have set tongues wagging. The decision to buy Pawan Negi for 8.5 crores - the highest price for an Indian player this year - has baffled many. So has the decision to pay 4.2 crores for Brathwaite. Even more baffling it is when you consider the fact that the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels and Soumya Sarkar all went unsold. But there are some even more stellar names that failed to make the cut this year. Have the franchises lost out on these bargain buys? Here are top 5 superstars who surprisingly went unsold in the auction. 

#1 Martin Guptill

Perhaps the strangest piece of business by the IPL franchises in the auction this year was not to go for Martin Guptill. Guptill has been in the form of his life and ended the last year on a high after his match-winning innings of 93 off 30 balls against Sri Lanka at Christchurch.

And no one can forget his superhuman knock of 237 off 163 balls at Wellington during the World Cup last year. His strike-rate of 145.39 in that innings had helped the Kiwis post an imposing total of 393 against the Windies in that match.

Guptill has scored 1666 runs at a strike-rate of 129.64 in T20Is. At a base price of 50 lakhs, Guptill would have been a great bargain that all the franchises have missed out on.