Every year, the IPL Auctions spring up a plenty of surprises. There have been countless other occasions where we’ve seen instances where players are bought for whooping prices. England’s specialist T20 bowler Tymal Mills bought for Rs. 12 Crores and England all-rounder Ben Stokes went for Rs 14.5 Crores.

But there are some other unexpected things happened in IPL 2017 Auction. Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan went unsold in the 2017 Indian Premier League auction and this was a major surprise for many fans. Both these players, who were part of the Rising Pune Supergiants franchise in the 2016 IPL, went unsold.

Why Ishant Sharma Went Unsold?

Having set his base price at INR 2 crores, the 28-year old went unsold in both rounds. In 2016 season, Ishant Sharma was sidelined by injury and illness and he missed the entire New Zealand series and a major portion of the England series.

“Ishant Sharma shouldn’t have kept his base price at INR 2 crores. Firstly, he doesn’t play for India in T20s and (is) not considered a white ball bowler. He is only playing Test cricket. Ideally, he should have shed his ego and kept his base price in the range of INR 30 lakhs. Varun Aaron gained just because of that even though Ishant probably has more quality”, an IPL team’s top boss present in the auction table.

Representing the newly formed Supergiant franchise in the 2016 IPL edition, the tall pacer played just four games and conceded a combined 148 runs for just 3 wickets. With his favored length not meeting the demands of T20 cricket.

Even former national teammate and Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir expressed surprise at Ishant’s base price for this auction and felt that it was ‘too high’. He played only one Test against England and one Test against Bangladesh and in both matches he impressed. Although he picked up only three wickets each in both the matches, he bowled with hostility and aggression.

Here are some twitter reaction after Ishant Sharma left unsold:

Not being a white ball bowler and having a base price of 2 crore INR has not helped Ishant Sharma’s cause

— Aleem M (@aleem025) February 21, 2017

Ishant Sharma – The Unsold Story 😍😍#IPL_Auction

– Proud IshantHolic 🙂 pic.twitter.com/ZSP7D3LAHp

— The Lost Traveller (@BhatkaSaRaahi) February 20, 2017

They Can Make An Entry Into IPL 10:

The lack of buyers for these two players left many people surprised. However, this is not the end of the road for these players. They can still make it to the upcoming season of IPL. After the lunch break, the franchises will choose from a list of unsold players who they want to return back to auction pool. Both Pathan and Ishant represented Rising Pune Supergiants last season. So far 33 players have been sold.

Among the Indian players, Karn Sharma was the most expensive pick as he was picked up by Mumbai Indians for a price of Rs 3.2 crore.

Also Read: Complete List Of Players Sold & Unsold In The Auction