IPL Auctions 2024 | Australian Stalwart Steve Smith Goes Unsold 

image-lqc33vqhSteve Smith (Twitter)

Steve Smith was one of the big names who went unsold at the mini-auction for the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) held on Tuesday (December 19) in Dubai. 

The Australian cricket giant, who had registered at a high-sum bid of INR 2 crores, found no takers for himself in the early hours of the bidding war in the Middle East.

The former Delhi Capitals (DC) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) player would've been desperate for a bid to make a comeback to the IPL following a two-year absence. However, there was no lucky respite from the franchises after the player had re-entered the auction amid persistent doubts and question marks over his capabilities in T20. 

Smith was one of the four unsold players from Set 1 up for grabs at the IPL 2024 auction alongside South African powerhitter Rilee Rossouw and the India and Karnataka middle-order pairing of Karun Nair and Manish Pandey. 

Smith Goes Unsold At IPL 2024 Auction 

The former Australian skipper last turned up in the IPL for the Capitals during the 2021 edition played in UAE when he played eight matches for a paltry collection of 152 runs. 

Overall, Smith could be deemed a sustained failure in the toughest T20 league, averaging 34.51 with a strike-rate of just 128.09 over 103 matches. 

The 34-year-old holds an equally poor record in T20Is for Australia after 65 T20Is. He has made his 1,079 runs at just 25.69 apiece while retaining a match-losing strike-rate of 125.17. 

Smith earned a T20I comeback for Australia recently on the back of his pair of unexpected centuries in the Big Bash League (BBL) for Sydney Sixers last home summer.

However, IPL franchises didn't forget the player's troubles to establish himself in the league and thus refrained from raising the paddle for him.