SA20 Player Auction: Top five players who went unsold
The auction saw some high octane bidding between the sides (PC: Twitter)
The auction for the first edition of SA20 was concluded on Monday, 19th September.
The six franchises - Mumbai Indians Cape Town, Johannesburg Super Kings, Paarl Royals, Pretoria Capitals, Sunrisers Eastern Cape and the Durban Super Giants got into a bidding frenzy for various players who the management thought would be key to their side's chances in the tournament.
Young all rounder Tristan Stubbs, who has been mighty impressive ever since he burst onto the international scene became the most expensive buy of the auction. He was sold to the Sunrisers Eastern Cape Town for a whopping R9.2 million. Rilee Roussow was the second most expensive buy after he was brought by the Pretoria Capitals for R6.9 million
However, there were some big names that missed out as well and in this article we will be taking a look at some of the biggest snubs in the auction.
1. Dean Elgar
Dean Elgar (PC: Twitter)
Dean Elgar, the proteas test skipper was one of the biggest names to go unsold this auction. Although he is better known for his batting skills in the longest format of the game, Elgar is no mug with the bat in the T20 format as well. In the Mzansi Super League in 2019, Elgar played 8 matches, scoring 216 runs with a healthy average of 36.
2. Temba Bavuma
Temba Bavuma (PC: Twiter)
No other unsold name will raise as many eyebrows as the man's who will be leading South Africa in the T20I World Cup - Temba Bavuma. Heading into the auction, experts were suggesting that teams might go for Bavuma as a captain but his name failed to attract any bids and remained unsold throughout the various stages of the auction.
3. Ross Taylor
Ross Taylor, the veteran from New Zealand retired from international cricket earlier this year and was supposed to attract bids from franchises owing to his batting prowess and experience in international cricket but that wasn't the case.
4. Shai Hope
The graceful opener from the Caribbean has been one of the regulars for West Indies in international cricket. Batting at the top order, the 28 year old boasts of a decent strike rate of 121.11 in T20Is. However none of the teams showed interest in the wicket keeper batter.
5. Andile Phehlukwayo
Andile Phehlukwayo (PC: Twitter)
The last name on the list is South African all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo. Phehlukwayo is a great bowler in the middle overs and a capable hitter in the lower middle order. Given his experience playing for South Africa in international cricket, he was also predicted to be one of the big buys but went unsold.
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