IPL 2018: After Smith, Warner ban, unsold Ishant, Klaasen can comeback

It would be first time in 10 seasons of Indian Premier League (IPL) that such an uncertainty is surrounding over players bought either at auctions or the ones retained.

In last two weeks, all eight franchises have had their ups and downs which raised eyebrows on playing chances of several players of each team.

From Delhi Daredevil's Mohammad Shami being accused of match-fixing by his estranged wife to Australian skipper Steve Smith admitting ball tampering in a Test match against South Africa, the past few days have been full of scandals and controversies.

If nothing controversial erupted, the injury entered the field and worked as a spoiler for the upcoming edition.

With a list of players being ruled out or banned for the upcoming edition, here's a list of replacement which went unsold at the IPL auctions in January.

Hashim Amla: With a base price of Rs 1.5 crore, Amla going unsold was almost a shocker. The South African all-rounder had a splendid year when he struck blistering tons in IPL 2017 for KXIP. He scored 420 runs in 10 matches at an incredible average of 60 runs and strike rate of 145.83. Despite being the sixth highest run-getter in the 10th edition Amla went unsold.

Alex Hales: An explosive opener is what every franchise targets while choosing players, yet, the swashbuckling English batsman, Alex Hales failed to attract any bid, even at his base price of 1 crore. Ranked eighth on ICC's current T20I batting list, Hales has career runs of 4544 at a strike-rate of 143.52.

Martin Guptill: IPL hasn't been the happy hunting ground for the New Zealand opener despite his strike rate in the limited-overs format of cricket. He was first in Mumbai Indians squad in 2016 and then part of KXIP in 2017 and following both seasons, his average stands at just 21 with 189 runs in a total of 10 games. But can be considered a possible replacement seeing his current form and cricketing experience.

Joe Root: The England Test captain wasn't shown keen interest upon because Root won't be available for the entire of the season. But his T20I stat isn't bad at all, in fact, numbers in India are applauding. In 2017, he played three T20Is against India and had averaged above 40. And then in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2016, he had amassed 249 runs striking at a rate of 146.57 which included his knock of 83 against South Africa.

Heinrich Klaasen: Klaasen was responsible for the two wins that the Proteas recorded during the limited-overs series against India, where wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were dominated. Though his base price is not disclosed, but he is considered a possible replacement for Steve Smith.

Shaun Marsh: Kings XI Punjab showed no interest in Shaun Marsh, who helped shape their team in the last 10 years. In the last IPL season, Marsh had scored 264 runs in nine matches, including two half-centuries. The Aussie batsman had recently scored a century during the second Ashes Test against England. Despite coming up for a second time during the auction, Marsh had no takers for IPL 2018.

Lasith Malinga: Sri Lankan pacer has been an iconic player in the tournament, and has been playing for Mumbai Indians since 2009. However, the 34-year-old cricketer has been struggling with form since his ankle surgery in 2015. He was also dropped from Sri Lanka’s squad for the ODI and T20 series in India last year.

Ishant Sharma: The tall and experienced right-arm fast-medium bowler of the Indian cricket team may have found solace in the Test format of cricket, but his T20 stats still put him low in the eyes of the bidders who once again ignored his likely possibilities in the upcoming season. Despite takng wickets at several crucial moments, the Indian pacer went unsold.