IPL 2025: The 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) concluded on an entertaining note as Shreyas Iyer led Kolkata Knight Riders went on to lift their third IPL trophy in the final of the cash-rich T20 league by eight wickets against Pat Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MA Chidambaram Stadium of Chennai. IPL 2024 is over and now the focus will shift to IPL 2025. Next year’s edition will feature a mega-auction and a lot of changes will be made in the squads of all the franchises.
The official date of the mega-auction has yet to be revealed but the announcement is expected to be made soon. All the ten participating teams are working on preparing their strategies for the upcoming IPL Auction and some big players might get released ahead of the 2025 Mega Auction while teams would also be looking to retain their match-winning players as well. In this article, we will take a look at five players who might get picked by the teams in the upcoming mega-auction after remaining unsold in IPL 2024.
Five players that might get picked by the teams in the upcoming mega-auction after remaining unsold in IPL 2024:
#1. Ben Stokes
England’s test skipper Ben Stokes didn’t participate in the 2024 season of the IPL in order to manage his fitness and workload. He was picked by five time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2023, but he wasn’t able to contribute in a proper way due to injuries. But, this time around, Stokes would be looking to turn things around and rule the IPL once again. The 33-year-old participated in this year’s Hundred as well and it’s believed that the All-Rounder will be looking to make a comeback in IPL 2025.
#2. Steve Smith
Australia’s highly skilled batsman Steve Smith has not participated in the the last three editions of the tournament. He last played in the cash-rich tournament in 2021 for 2020 runners-up Delhi Capitals (DC) and he didn’t perform according to expectations in that season.
He only managed to score 152 runs in eight matches at a below-par average of 25. 33 and a really poor strike rate of 112.59. Due to his below-average performance that year, he went unsold in the mini auctions of 2022 and 2023.
However, things have changed since then and Smith has returned to his red-hot form. In the recently concluded season of Major League Cricket (MLC), the 35-year-old finished as the second-highest run-getter of the competition as he amassed 336 runs in nine innings at a really good strike rate of 148.67 with an average of 56. He even scored three half-centuries and considering his recent excellent form, the franchises would be looking to add Smith to their squad for the next three seasons.
#3. Sarfaraz Khan
Right-handed batsman Sarfaraz Khan is a player who is regarded as a highly talented one and has been a prolific run-getter in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai. However, in the last few years, he has failed to replicate his Domestic Cricket form in the IPL.
He represented the Delhi Capital in IPL 2023 but he had an abysmal season with the bat as he was able to score just 53 runs in four matches at a miserable strike rate of 85.48. Due to his poor outing with the bat, he was eventually dropped from the playing 11.
Due to a poor IPL 2023, he was not able to find any potential suitors and remained unsold. But, 2024 has been kind to Sarfaraz. The batter made his test debut against England earlier this year and scored three useful half-centuries which helped India win the test series by a margin of 4-1.
He has proven to be a consistent performer in the Ranji Trophy and this may just help him find a franchise to play for in the upcoming IPL 2025.
#4. Tabraiz Shamsi
Tabraiz Shamsi is a player who is regarded as one of the best chinaman spinners in the world of Cricket. He previously represented the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in 2016 and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2021.
However, since then he has remained unsold in the auctions of 2022, 2023, and 2024 as well. But this time around in the mega auction of IPL 2025, his fortunes might change as he had a really good T20 World Cup 2024 with the ball and his commendable performances might land him a contract in the mega-auction.
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