Despite presently being the top performers at the international level, IPL teams believed not to invest too much in these bowlers
When it comes to domestic T20 tournaments, the Indian Premier League is considered the crème de la crème. However, at times, even being the best doesn’t guarantee a spot on the team or big money from franchises. In the recently concluded IPL mega auction 2025, the top-ranked ICC T20I bowlers were left shocked as teams simply didn’t show much interest in them.
Who were those bowlers? Take a look
England’s 36-year-old season leg-spinner Adil Rashid may have some fitness concerns, but he is presently the top-ranked ICC T20I bowler with 701 points. Not to forget, he is also England’s highest wicket-taker among spin bowlers in ODIs and T20Is. However, despite being at the top of the game, Adil Rashid went unsold during the auction, even with a base price of merely INR 2 crore.
Adil Rashid Goes Unsold!#IPL #IPLAuction pic.twitter.com/pQYUAzDH6E
— CRICKETNMORE (@cricketnmore) February 12, 2022
A star leg-spinner from Sri Lanka who is already his country’s highest T20I wicket-taker, Wanindu made his IPL debut with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2021. He stayed with the team till the conclusion of the IPL 2023, having picked 35 wickets during the course. However, in 2024, he moved to Sunrisers Hyderabad, but a heel injury prevented him from playing a single match. Hyderabad did not retain him, and he was let go. During the auction, Rajasthan and Mumbai got into a tussle, but Mumbai didn’t wish to spend more than INR 5 crore. Rajasthan Royals won the bid and purchased Hasaranga for INR 5.25 crore.
Wanindu Hasaranga - SOLD to RR For 5.25 cr#ipl @BCCI https://t.co/BzgRU9zkSD pic.twitter.com/XUxTP3kjJr
— Willow TV US (@willowtv) November 24, 2024
Currently, Adam Zampa is the third-ranked T20I bowler in the ICC rankings, but he garnered only INR 2.40 crore from Sunrisers Hyderabad. Rajasthan Royals has raised the paddle for him but decided not to fight for him when Hyderabad quoted INR 2.40 crore from his base price of INR 2 crore.
Adam Zampa - SOLD to SRH For 2.40 cr#ipl @BCCI https://t.co/BzgRU9zkSD pic.twitter.com/mAPD6c7ptH
— Willow TV US (@willowtv) November 24, 2024
Zampa’s IPL career has witnessed highs and lows, with 12 wickets in five games in 2016 to disappearing from IPL for three years. In 2020, he made a comeback with Royal Challengers Bengaluru but struggled and played in only three games. He again came back to the IPL in 2023 and played six games for the Rajasthan Royals but none in 2024.
The fourth-ranked bowler in the ICC T20I rankings is a West Indies left-arm fingerspinner who was part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2023 but played only one game that season, picking one wicket. For the mega auction, he registered himself with a base price of INR 1.50 crore, but none of the teams went for him, and he remained unsold. In 65 T20Is he has played so far, Akeal has picked up 57 wickets while maintaining an economy rate of less than eight. Akeal registered the second-best bowling figure of 5/11 in the ICC T20I World Cup 2024.
Made his debut in the IPL wearing the Chennai Super Kings’ jersey, the Sri Lankan off-break bowler is the fifth-ranked ICC T20I bowler. In his first two seasons at Chennai, he picked 33 wickets in 21 games. However, last season, due to a niggle, he played only five games. Chennai didn’t retain him, and Rajasthan Royals grabbed him for INR 4.40 crore. Mumbai Indians also tried to grab him, but once the price reached 4.40, they didn’t bid further.
