Apart from witnessing four 15+ crore biddings in IPL 2023 Auction, one thing that hurt the most is missing many big international and IPL veterans’ names in the final IPL 2023 Squad.
Sandeep Sharma Went Unsold in IPL 2023 Auction
Many international players including Mohammad Nabi, and Rassie van der Dussen and IPL veterans like Sandeep Sharma and Shreyas Gopal didn’t find any takers during the IPL 2023 Auction held on December 23 at Kochi, Kerala.
Particularly Sandeep Sharma’s absence left everyone shocked. Even Sandeep Sharma stated that he was “shocked and disappointed” after failing to make it into a team during the IPL 2023 Auction.
In an interaction with cricket.com, he highlighted his recent performances in the domestic circuit and said: “I’m shocked and disappointed. I don’t know why I went unsold. I’ve done well whichever team I had played for and genuinely thought some team would bid for me.
To be honest, I was not expecting this. Don’t even know where it has gone wrong. In domestic cricket, I have been performing well. In the Ranji Trophy, last round, I took seven wickets. I did so well in Syed Mushtaq Ali,” said the pacer.
Earlier, in IPL Sandeep Sharma represented the Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad and has consistently taken wickets, particularly during the powerplay, regardless of the team he has played for.
If we have keen look at his records, SRH’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only bowler with more powerplay wickets than Sandeep. It is worth mentioning that he was the only bowler between 2014 and 2020 to scalp over 12 wickets in each edition.
Sandeep Sharma also holds the record for dismissing Virat Kohli for most number of times in IPL. Sandeep dismissed Kohli 7 times since his IPL debut.
“I have always strived to be consistent in my bowling. And that’s the only thing in my hands. I can’t control selection or non-selection. If a chance comes then good, or else, I have to keep doing good work,” Sharma further said.
Sandeep Sharma holds the 13th position in the list of leading wicket-takers in IPL history with 114 wickets under his belt. Between 2013-22, Sandeep played 104 matches and bagged 114 wickets at an economy rate of 7.77.
Sandeep Sharma has been sold to Punjab Kings at his base price of INR 50 Lakh during the IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
While speaking about the IPL 2023 Auction, Sam Curran becomes the most expensive player in the IPL Auction history after Punjab Kings bagged him at a whooping price of INR 18.50 crore.
Sandeep Sharma Can Still Feature in IPL 2023?
YES, Sandeep Sharma can still make his way back into the IPL 2023. Registered at a base price of INR 50 lakh, the pacer can make it into any of the participating teams as an injury replacement.
