The two-day marathon auction ended with 204 players finding teams, some going back to their old teams, some getting picked up be teams they have played for in the past, while most of them finding a new home. A total of 137 Indian and 67 overseas players were sold at the IPL 2022 mega auction in Bengaluru.

However, while many young and exciting players found a home in an IPL team, a few veteran stars of the game including Indian and overseas players remained unsold after the auction. The biggest name in the unsold list was former India batsman Suresh Raina, who is popularly known as Mr. IPL.

Raina, who is the fourth-highest run-getter in the history of the IPL, didn’t find any takers at the two-day auction. Raina went unsold in the first round when he was presented in the batters’ set. But as is the trend of unsold players getting recalled in the accelerated session, many expected Raina to feature in that and might find a taker. However, he wasn’t listed by any of the franchises and didn’t enter the final round.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan couldn’t wrap his head around the decision of Raina going unsold saying that one bad season cost him a place in the IPL. Pathan said that many overseas players have played in the IPL till the age of 40 adding that Rainia is just 35-year old.

Taking to Twitter, Pathan wrote, “Still think Raina could have been pushed. We have seen some foreign players who have played IPL till 40. Raina is 35! One bad season. #MrIPL.”

However, Raina was not the only senior player who faced the axing in the auction. Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch, Shakib Al Hasan, Eoin Morgan, Imran Tahir were part of the list of unsold cricketers which featured as many as 76 names.