In the mega auction of the 15th edition of the Indian
Premier League (IPL) 590 players tried their luck but only 204 could fetch
coveted deals. The auction was full of surprises. Some players fetched hefty
deals with Ishan Kishan going to Mumbai Indians for Rs 15.25 crore. Deepak
Chahar was the second most expensive player with Chennai Super
Kings retaining him for Rs 14 crore. Among the overseas cricketers,  Liam Livingstone earned Rs 11.50 crore as
Punjab Kings bought him.

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But when there were some surprise buys and franchises
spent heavily on them, it was surprising to see some of the big names going
unsold in the auction. 

Best XI of unsold players at IPL 2022 mega action:

Aaron
Finch (c)

There was no bidder for Australia captain Aaron Finch.
The right-handed batter is among one of the best openers in the T20 cricket,
but he was overlooked in the auction. He also has the experience of playing for
multiple franchises including the Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals, Pune
Warriors, SunRisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions, Punjab Kings, and
Royal Challengers Bangalore in various editions of the Indian Premier League.

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Though he did not play the 2021 IPL, he maintained a
good average in the IPL. In 85 T20Is, he has scored 2641 runs at an average of
35.41. Despite this, he was not considered.

Mohammed
Azharuddeen (wk)

The flamboyant wicketkeeper-batter from Kerala was
expected to draw the attention of IPL franchises. He was in the Royal
Challengers Bangalore squad for IPL 2021. Azhar came into the limelight when he
hammered a 37 ball ton in a Syed Mushtaq Ali game against the mighty Mumbai
side. His century was the first one by any Kerala batter in T20 format.

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It was surprising that he was not picked in the
auction.

Steve
Smith

World T20-winning Australia cricketer Steve Smith did
not find a buyer in the auction. Though Smith is known for his abilities to
play quickfire innings, franchises didn’t show any interest in him.

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Suresh
Raina

Undoubtedly, one of the best batters in the history of
IPL, Raina skipped the 2021 season. In the 2022 auction, no franchises showed
interest in him due to his patchy form. Not even Chennai Super Kings. Raina
will watch this season of IPL as a spectator.

Rajat
Patidar

A dependable middle order from Madhya Pradesh, Rajata
Patdidar played a couple of crucial cameos for RCB in the IPL 2021 when he was
given the role of batting at No. 3. 
Patidar is known for providing stability to an innings. He was also
ignored by the franchises.

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Saurabh
Tiwary

Former Mumbai Indians batter Saurabh Tiwary is a
familiar name in the fold of IPL. He played for Mumbai Indians and was part of
the 2008 U-19 World Cup-winning Indian side alongside Kohli. Tiwary can play
quickfire knock. But he didn’t find any team in the auction.

Shakib-Al-Hasan

One of the biggest surprises of the IPL 2022 auction came when Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan went unsold. Shakib is known for adding runs with the bat and taking wickets in regular intervals.

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Amit
Mishra

39-year-old Amit Mishra is the second-highest
wicket-taker in the history of IPL just behind Lasith Malinga. There is little
doubt that Mishra is still a useful spinner than any rookie bowler. But in the
fast-paced league, Mishra found no takers.

Dhawal
Kulkarni

IPL 2022 will be the first season that
Dhawal Kulkarni would miss. Kulkarni has played every IPL season till now. He
started his IPL journey in 2008 when he took the field for Mumbai Indians.
Since the first season, he has been a part of the mighty Mumbai Indians core.
He played the first five IPL seasons for Mumbai Indians before moving to
Rajasthan Royals in 2014.

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Ishant Sharma

One of the most experienced fast bowlers of India
Ishant Sharma was dropped from the Indian team. He also did not find a team in
the IPL for the first time. The 33-year-old played for Delhi Capitals in the
last couple of seasons. He too went unsold.

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Mujeeb Ur
Rahman

Mujeeb was very impressive for Punjab Kings and
SunRisers Hyderabad in the last few seasons. He was picked by Punjab Kings
during the mega IPL auction in 2018. In the 2022 auction, he was overlooked.