Elevated Performance Bar: IPL Auction Unsold List Highlights Increasing Standards

A staggering 182 players were successfully sold during the 2025 mega auction over two days. Surprisingly, a whopping 395 players did not find any buyers, more than double the number of players who were sold. Among the unsold players, 145 were capped players, with only 12 of them being India internationals. Among these unfortunate players were young talents like Prithvi Shaw and allrounder Shardul Thakur, who found themselves in a lonely place as their potential went unrecognized.

Shardul, 33, is experiencing how quickly a bad turn can arrive in sport. The Mumbai player was the fifth highest priced ( ₹10.75 crore) player in the 2022 IPL auction. He was traded – Delhi Capitals to Kolkata Knight Riders – for the same prize in 2023. Last year, CSK bought him for ₹4 crore.

One of Shardul’s biggest utilities has been his wicket-taking knack, backed by his lower-order ball-striking. He has been most useful in ODI cricket. In Tests, Shardul found a unique position, becoming India’s pace-bowling all-rounder for overseas conditions. International success in other formats had a positive effect on his IPL price. Not to say Shardul is not useful in T20 cricket, but he doesn’t ace any facet of play with his bowling. With the bat, he has mostly been underutilised. Once his international showings began to slip over the last year, he didn’t have any unique offering to push his case, particularly in the new 12-a-side IPL team structure under the Impact Player rule.

One would still have thought, for his many variations with the ball and clean-hitting besides the international experience, someone would have found Shardul worthy to keep in the long squad list.

Of the same age as Shardul, it’s been two years since Mayank Agarwal batted in India colours. His falling IPL numbers over three years (SR 122, 128, 118) were enough for franchises to look past him in the auction. While a lower-order finisher gets a longer rope, as a top order batter Mayank is competing with some of the best ball strikers as the tempo of the short format goes up a notch every year. Again, with some luck, he may have invited interest from a team with a hole to fill towards the back end of the auction. That’s how Ajinkya Rahane and Manish Pandey – by no matrix does their batting meet modern trends – found a team.

Shaw used to be spoken of in the same breath as Shubman Gill; both come from India’s U19 World Cup winning batch of 2018. Shaw made his India debut before Gill, still has elite batting numbers (SR 147 in 77 IPL matches). When on song, there are few like him. But he’s always lacked consistency. Of late, his party videos have been trending more. He was recently dropped from the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team for fitness reasons. The IPL rewards talent like no other platform, but value for money is what every team wants in return.

“In so many meetings, Ricky (Ponting, Delhi Capitals head coach) would have decided to drop Prithvi because he had no runs, was a flop. Before the toss, you felt, what if he scores today,” Mohammed Kaif, former DC assistant coach, recalled in a Jio Cinema broadcast. “In that maybe he got many chances. All the teams wanted to move on, now. It’s embarrassing for him. He has to go back to the drawing board, work on his fitness to get back.”

With many other no bids, it was evident that international performers for their countries like Daryll Mitchell, Alzarri Joseph, Nandre Burger and Keshav Maharaj couldn’t quite push the envelope to make the 80 best overseas player slots. Saurabh Netravalkar, the US left-arm pace sensation during this year’s T20 World Cup in USA with his software engineering background, didn’t get any bids either.

The wily India leg-spinner Piyush Chawla had a great second coming in IPL with the Impact Player rule for two years. But in a new auction cycle, teams wanted to invest in crafty younger spinners. Similar was the thinking when teams looked past established batters Dave Warner and Jonny Bairstow.

Age alone is no bar. R Ashwin, 38, found a handsome contract for his unique offerings. Faf du Plessis, supremely fit at 40, still found a team. It’s just that the bar has gone further up in the league that keeps on giving, and players have to meet the new benchmark.