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Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Joe Root, Hashim Amla and Lasith Malinga were among the big names who went unsold at the IPL auction.
Reputation counts for little, it was evident in the Players' Auction for the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League with heavyweights such as Lasith Malinga and Dale Steyn going unsold alongside England captain Joe Root, while Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh were bought only at their base price.
Interestingly, West Indian opener Chris Gayle found a late lifeline as Kings XI Punjab snapped him up for his base price of Rs. 2 crore after he was presented for the third time, on Day 2 of the Auction, in Bengaluru on Sunday.
The 38-year-old Gayle has the fastest T20 century to his name, off 30 balls for RCB versus Pune Warriors in 2013. However, he has been battling with erratic form of late.
He did not do anything noticeable in the away series against New Zealand in December-January. But he did grab a lot of attention after smashing an unbeaten 146 off 69 balls in the Bangladesh Premier League last month.
Another IPL regular who went unsold was Sri Lanka pacer Malinga, who has been facing fitness issues for a long time. Malinga spearheaded the Mumbai Indians attack for many seasons.
England captain Root went into his maiden IPL auction with a base price of Rs 1.5 crore but did not attract a bid alongside fellow Englishmen Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow.
Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson was also picked for his Rs 2 crore base price by Kolkata Knight Riders, late in the second day.
Johnson, who played for Mumbai Indians last season, did not find a taker on the first day but he was bought on the second day. However, the other retired players like compatriot Shane Watson and former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum bagged hefty deals.
Watson went to CSK for Rs 4 crore, three crore more than his base price, and McCullum was sold to RCB for Rs 3.6 crore.
South Africa batsman Hashim Amla was another big international name to go unsold.
Indian veterans Yuvraj Singh, who fetched a record Rs 16 crore deal in the past, and Harbhajan Singh, did not generate a lot of interest from teams this time and went to KXIP and CSK respectively at their Rs 2 crore base price.
India fast bowler Ishant Sharma also found no takers after being listed for a base price of Rs. 75 lakh.