With a packed cricket schedule, unsold players in the IPL auction always have a chance to come in as an injury replacement. We take a look at 3 T20 openers that could still get into IPL 2025.
The mega auction for IPL 2025 held in November threw quite a few surprises with several big names getting no takers. The cash-rich Indian Premier League is the pinnacle of franchise cricket and with a large player pool, plenty of quality players miss out on the opportunity.
The most recent auction witnessed a continuation of a trend as the franchises looked to back younger and fresher talent. Amongst the names that went unsold were Prithvi Shaw, Kane Williamson, David Warner, Shardul Thakur, Jonny Bairstow, Daryl Mitchell and Mustafizur Rahman.
Today we take a look at three openers who could get a late entry into IPL 2025 as a replacement player.
The left-hand opening batter, who is leading the charge for England’s Bazzball batting style in Test cricket, Ben Duckett is in the form of his life. He had an outstanding 2024, where he amassed over 1500 international runs across three formats.
Duckett did well for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League as well, scoring 243 runs from seven innings at an average 34.71 and strike rate of 154.77.
The 30-year-old batter is regarded as one of the best overseas batters against spin, something that is vital to be successful in the subcontinent. A left-hand option and can also keep wickets. With the amount of boxes he ticks, the fact that he went unsold is baffling to say the least.
David Warner is one of the greatest players to have played in the IPL with a career only a few can match. At his peak, he was carrying the entire Sunrisers Hyderabad batting unit on his back. But the age comes for everyone and he didn’t have a great time in the league last year.
In a season where batting records tumbled frequently, Warner could make only 168 runs in eight innings at an average of 21 and strike rate of 134. With concerns over his form and having been retired from international cricket, the left-hand batter was ignored by IPL franchises.
However, Warner has put his name up for any replacement offers with his performance in the Big Bash League. He is leading the run-scoring chart in the season with 324 runs at an average 54 while striking at 141.
An experienced player with a proven record and form on his side, Warner could well have a chance to light up the IPL one more time.
In 2021, Mayank Agarwal was having a dream run in the IPL for Punjab Kings. On the back of two consecutive excellent seasons, he was handed the captaincy reins for IPL 2022 after KL Rahul’s exit. Things, however, took a drastic turn and now he sits without an IPL contract.
Agarwal, who made 864 runs at 39 average and 147 strike rate across 2020-21, had an awful year as the captain with only 196 runs in 12 innings. He was released afterwards and his fortunes didn’t change at Sunrisers Hyderabad as well.
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All is not lost for Agarwal, though, as he can be picked as a replacement player after a strong showing in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The Karnataka opener is second on the run-scoring chart with 619 runs at an average of 101 while striking at 109.
