Indian Premier League: mini-auction - The 5 most surprising players who remain unsold

However, it is safe to say that some players who missed out on an IPL contract left fans more surprised than others. 

Here are five players who should have been picked up by some franchise for at least a cut-price deal but were left with no bidders. 

Rassie van der Dussen – The South African top order batter was part of the IPL in 2022 with the Rajasthan Royals but didn't get too many games. Yet many saw that as a mistake by the franchise, and thus there was an expectation that he would get picked up by another side this year. 

However, no bids were forthcoming, even during the accelerated auction process, which was a surprise. He's a utility batsman while also being an underrated fielder. His base price of Rs. 2 crore was a bit much, but teams had money left and still surprisingly looked him over. 

Dawid Malan – England were the T20 World Cup winners, which meant many of their players, like Sam Curran, Harry Brook, Will Jacks and even Ben Stokes, were sold for big money. However, there was no love shown to Malan by any franchise. 

The one-time top-ranked T20I batsman in the world was expected to attract some bids, even at a base price, during the accelerated auction. However, no team saw fit to include him in their roster, even this year. 

Mohammad Nabi – The former Afghanistan captain has been a staple of T20 franchise leagues worldwide and has even starred in the IPL. However, he went unsold despite a modest base price of Rs. 1 crore. 

It isn't a decision that makes much sense, given he can bowl you four handy overs off-spin, be a dependable lower-order batsman, and be a decent fielder. However, no team made any space for him on their rosters. 

Mujeeb ur Rahman – Mystery spinners are often in demand for T20 cricket, but it seems none of the IPL teams got the memo since Afghanistan's Mujeeb Ur Rahman ended up getting no bids at all from any of the teams present. 

It's not entirely clear why that is the case. Mujeeb is a decent spinner with variations and can be very effective with the new ball in the power plays. Yet he went unsold, despite the additional upside of being just 24 years old. 

Dinesh Bana – An attacking batsman who kept wickets and was part of India's most recent U-19 World Cup winning side, Bana was expected to attract a few bids given his style of play and massive upside despite just being 18 years old. 

Shockingly though, all the teams went for him in the accelerated auction despite his modest base price of Rs. 20 crores. It's a mystery of an unsold player, if there ever was one.