Beyond the bidding: Key players who missed in IPL auction

The auctions for IPL 2025 came as a shock when many prominent players missed out from being picked. A single evening changed the career trajectory of many players. While they had been a regular part in previous editions, the 2025 IPL would be played without their inclusion in any of the teams. 

Today, in this article by ZAP cricket, we will share a detailed list of all the players who went unsold at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

Shardul Thakur 

This 33 year old Mumbaikar has been in the IPL circuit since 2015. He has played for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Rising Pune Supergiants, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders. However, despite having such a vast experience, he remained unsold as none of the teams backed this medium pacer all rounder. He has proved his credentials time and again but somehow none of the team’s management considered him as a solid option. 

Kane Williamson 

This star batter from New Zealand has been the crowd’s favourite. In 2015, he started with Sunrisers Hyderabad and stayed with them till 2022. In all these years, he won many games for his franchise and even led the team for a brief period. Later, in 2023, he was picked by Gujarat Titans, the squad that lifted the 2023 trophy. Overall, he has been a household name in the IPL and his exclusion is slightly hard to digest.

David Warner

Warner being unsold in the IPL was slightly hard to believe considering how much he has been involved in the previous years. He played his first season in 2009 for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and since then he has been playing regularly. He is a natural attacking opening batsman and has proved that time and again. Last year, when Delhi Capitals released him, it was expected that Warner’s bid would go high but what happened was totally contrary. One reason for that could be his age and his retirement from international cricket.

Jonny Bairstow 

Bairstow is another powerful batsman from England. In total he has played 50 IPL matches and scored 1,589 runs. Last year, he played for Punjab Kings but as he wasn’t retained by the franchisee, he had to go through all the process again. Due to lack of performance in previous editions, Jonny wasn’t backed by any of the teams. 

Prithvi Shaw 

Prithvi Shaw’s reasons for exclusion could be his lack of performance in the past. He is an exceptional opening batsman but his stats do not justify his calibre. Delhi Capitals backed him for so many years but he constantly failed to deliver. This is the prime reason for him not being picked by any team. In 79 matches, he has scored 1,892 runs at an average of 23.95. 

Mustafizur Rahman

Rahman is a left arm pacer from Bangladesh. In 2016, he played his first IPL when he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad. Other than that, he has been part of Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi capitals as well. In 57 matches, he has taken 61 wickets with an average of 28.89.

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav’s career is at dawn as he is dropped from the IPL. No doubt he is an excellent bowler but his speed isn’t very useful in shorter formats of the game. Last year, he played for Gujarat Titans but wasn’t retained by them. He has vast experience in IPL as he has been a regular member since 2010. In total he has played for 4 franchises- Delhi Capitals (2010-13, 2021), Kolkata Knight Riders (2014-17, 2022-23), Royal Challengers Bangalore (2018-2020) and Gujarat Titans (2024)

Mayank Aggarwal

Mayank Aggarwal was once a storm in the IPL. He used to open for his franchise and amaze everyone with his strong punches. But over time, his performance has declined and that is one of the reasons for his exclusion from IPL 2025. He holds a lot of experience but the growing competition has just added constraints to his path. Scouts are preferring young blood and probably that’s why he wasn’t bought by any of the teams. 

Navdeep Saini

Navdeep Saini once blew a storm on the Internet with his raw pace. He was all over the headlines and was looked at as the next big thing in Indian Cricket. But due to lack of opportunities, his talent went unappreciated which brought about a halt to his promising career. Now, scouts are also over him and are backing young guns like Mayank Yadav, Harshit Raha etc. Due to all these reasons he was declared unsold in IPL 2025.