IPL auction surprise - no takers for Warner and Thakur

David Warner, 38, was arguably the biggest name to go unsold at the IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah. Warner, who retired from international cricket in June, had entered the auction at a base price of INR 2 crore. After going unsold on Sunday, his name came up again in the accelerated round on Monday, but there were no takers for him.

Over the years, Warner has been one of the star performers in the IPL. His 6565 runs from 184 matches are the most by an overseas batter, and the fourth-highest overall at the tournament behind the Indian trio of Virat Kohli (8004), Shikhar Dhawan (6769) and Rohit Sharma (6628). Warner crossed the 500-run mark in a season seven times - a record he holds jointly with Kohli. But he had a lukewarm IPL 2024 for Delhi Capitals (DC): 168 runs in eight outings at a strike rate of 134.40.

Warner's last competitive game was in August, at the MAX60 tournament in the Caribbean. He was the highest run-getter there, with a tally of 297 at a strike rate of 181.09. He will be in action for Dubai Capitals at the ILT20 early next year.

Among Indians, Shardul Thakur was the most high-profile player - with a base price of INR 2 crore - to not attract a bid. A seam-bowling allrounder, Thakur was with CSK last season. He played nine games, picking up five wickets at an economy of 9.75. He got to bat only three times and scored 21 runs.

Thakur, though, hasn't played for India in any format since December 2023 and underwent foot surgery in June this year and returned to competitive cricket only in early October in the Irani Cup for Mumbai.

Prithvi Shaw, who was retained by DC ahead of IPL 2022, also did not get a bid at his base price of INR 75 lakh.

Shaw struggled with form in the last two seasons and was dropped for Abishek Porel during IPL 2024. More recently, he was dropped from Mumbai's Ranji Trophy squad for poor fitness and "general conduct".

England's Jonny Bairstow was another big name that went unsold. Bairstow was with Punjab Kings (PBKS) from 2022 to 2024, and scored 551 runs in 22 innings at a strike rate of 148.92 for them in that period. No bids for him - from a base price of INR 2 crore - at this auction, though.

The same was the case for Daryl Mitchell, who was bought by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for INR 14 crore at the IPL 2024 mini-auction and has been one of New Zealand's best performers across formats in recent times. He also came in with a base price of INR 2 crore.