We know now the most expensive player in the recently concluded mega IPL (Indian Premier League) auction and who remained unsold.

Of the 600 players listed for auctions, 204 were bought by ten teams in the auction in the price range of ₹20 lakh to ₹15.25 crore.

However, many fans were unhappy over the team management as some of their favourite cricketers, including Suresh Raina, Steve Smith and Adam Zampa, remained unsold in the auctions.

Interestingly, the percentage of unsold players was minimum in the mega auctions of 2022 compared to previous auctions conducted since 2014.

While 70 per cent remained unsold in the mega auctions of 2014 and 2018, the unsold players’ share stood at 66 per cent in 2022. A maximum of 83 per cent of players remained unsold in the 2019 auction.

Raina, Smith and Zampa had set their base price at ₹2 crore while opting for the auctions. In fact, the number of unsold players at a base price of ₹2 crore crossed double digits this year. For the first time since 2014, there was no takers for 12 players with a base price of ₹2 crore in 2022.

Usually, experienced star players prefer to place themselves at a base price of ₹2 crore. (IPL has been conducting auctions in rupees since 2014. Till then, it was conducting auctions in dollars.)

Minimum base price

As expected, a major chunk of players remained unsold at the minimum base price of ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh. Players with a base price of ₹20 lakh crossed 200 during the mega auctions of 2022 (261 players) and 2018 (240 players), and the number with a base price of ₹10 lakh touched a maximum of 183 in 2015. The minimum base price was ₹10 lakh by 2017. It was increased to ₹20 lakh in 2018.

The next major chunk of unsold players was registered at base prices of ₹50 lakh and ₹30 lakh. In the auctions conducted between 2014 and 2022, only one player with a base price of ₹25 lakh remained unsold in 2018. That base price does not exist now.

All-rounders

Of the nine auctions analysed here, the share of all-rounders to the total players unsold remained high in eight auctions. In 2014, more bowlers than all-rounders remained unsold. A maximum of 156 all-rounders were unsold in 2018 and a minimum of 68 in 2014.

Bowlers form the second major group of unsold players. As many as 145 bowlers each remained unsold in the two mega auctions of 2014 and 2018, and 137 in the 2022 mega auction.

None of the wicket-keepers remained unsold at ₹2 crore base price, though a major chunk of them remained unsold at the minimum base price of ₹20 lakh.

A majority of batsmen remained unsold at ₹30 lakh base price along with the minimum base prices of the respective auctions.

Funds remaining

Team managements pick a majority of their players in the auction process. With the power to spend a certain amount on the players, the managements come with strategies to buy the players of their choice. Sometimes they succeed, and sometimes they do not. In the bidding process, some teams spend the entire amount allocated to them, and some go back with still money in their purse.

In fact, the three mega auctions of 2014, 2018 and 2022 saw at least one team spending the entire amount in their purse. In 2014, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils spent the entire amount in their wallet, Kolkata Knight Riders went back home with zero amount in its purse. In 2022, Lucknow Super Giants spent the entire money in its purse. The minimum amount remaining in the purse was ₹10 lakh in these auctions, and the maximum amount was ₹18.80 crore (Punjab Kings in 2021).

In the last nine auctions, a maximum amount of ₹16.25 crore was invested by a team on a single player (Chris Morris in 2021). Teams were able to get some players at the minimum base price also. However, the average investment per player has gone up from ₹1.70 crore in 2014 to ₹2.70 crore in 2022.

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