Bengaluru: One of the biggest surprises from the 2017 Indian Premier League auction was that star Indian paceman Ishant Sharma remained unsold.
The much talked-about auctions took place in Bengaluru on Monday, with England all-rounder Ben Stokes becoming the highest paid foreign player in the 10-year history of the tournament; he was bought by Rising Pune Supergiants for Rs 14.5 crore.
However, some key players went unsold in the auctions, with ODI and T20 world no. 1 Imran Tahir being one of the biggest surprises, along with Irfan Pathan.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir, who was present at the auctions in Bengaluru, believes that Ishant’s base price was "too high".
“I was surprised to see Ishant Sharma’s base price,” Gambhir said on Sony Six, during the lunch break at the auction. “I think it was too high.”
Ishant Sharma’s base price was set at a high Rs 2 crore, which many consider to be too high for someone who can operate only was a specialist bowler.
While Sharma went unsold in the first phase of the IPL auction, he was brought back under the hammer in the second phase. However, the lanky paceman did not attract any bids in this phase as well, and was not recalled in the third phase.
