5 IPL players who came back strong as replacements after going unsold in the auction

The IPL auction, which is held every year ahead of the tournament has always drawn plenty of attention from fans who closely follow the league. The auctions are often unpredictable, making them fun to watch.

The biggies earn millions in the bidding process, some of the best in-form players fail to find a bidder even at their base price. The reasons may be many - from not fitting in the team combination to non-availability of the player for the full season.

Even after going unsold in the auction, some players find their place in the team in unfortunate injuries to players playing in the league. To fill the vacancies left by the injured players, these players are signed as replacements and play for the various franchises.

Here are gfive such players who went unsold in the auction but came back strong as replacements in the league.

#5 Steve Smith

Then a young and talented batsman from Australia, now skipper Steven Smith went unsold in the IPL auction 2012. Smith was signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2010 but he failed to get a game to show his potential. In the following season, he was signed by Kochi Tuskers Kerala but was ruled out of the league owing to an injury.

In the 2012 edition of the IPL, he went unsold after setting his base price at $200,000. He was later roped in by Pune Warriors India as a replacement for the injured Mitchell Marsh.

In the season, Smith scored 362 runs in 15 matches at an average of 40.22 and a strike rate of 135.58. As a result of his performance, he was later retained by the franchise in the following season.

#4 Imran Tahir

The talented leggie from South Africa went unsold in the 2017 IPL Auction. Even though he had a relatively low base price of Rs. 50 lakh, Tahir could not find a bidder. He was later signed by Rising Pune Supergiants as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh, who was ruled out due to a shoulder injury.

Tahir grabbed the opportunity with both hands and bowled exceptionally in the season. He took 18 wickets in just 12 matches at an economy of 7.85. Tahir led the bowling department along with Jaydev Unadkat and played one of the biggest roles in Pune reaching the final of the tournament.

#3 Sreenath Arvind

The fast bowler from Karnataka first played in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011. He emerged as the highest wicket-taker for RCB in the season and third highest overall, taking 21 wickets from 13 matches. He was later released by the franchise ahead of the 2013 edition.

Arvind, who had a base price of Rs. 10 lakh, went unsold ahead of the 2015 edition of the IPL. He was later signed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement for Adam Milne, who was out due to an injury.

Arvind came back strong and took 8 wickets in 5 matches at an economy of 7.33. His bowling stint included a 4 wicket haul against Kings XI Punjab.

#2 Lendl Simmons

The hard-hitting West Indies batsman went unsold in the 2014 IPL auction. Simmons, who had a base price of Rs. 50 lakh, failed to find bidders. He was signed by Mumbai Indians as a replacement for Jalaj Saxena, who suffered a finger injury.

In the 8 matches that he played in the season, Simmons scored 394 runs at an average of 56.28 and at a strike rate of 135.39. He scored a hundred and 3 fifties in the season.

Simmons was retained by the Mumbai Indians in the following season, where he scored 540 runs in 13 matches at an average of 45.00. He played a big role in his team winning the title for the second time in the league. He finished joint 2nd on the list of highest run scorers in the season falling just 22 runs short of winning the orange cap.

#1 Chris Gayle

The 'universe boss' landed up in the auction pool ahead of the 2011 edition of the IPL after he was not retained by Kolkata Knight Riders. Gayle was not retained in spite of scoring 463 runs in the 16 matches that he played in the first two seasons for the Kolkata-based franchise.

At a base price of $400,000, the West Indian placed himself in the highest price bracket in the auction. Gayle failed to attract any bid and went unsold. Later he was roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore squad as a replacement for injured Dirk Nannes.

Chris Gayle showed his potential, scoring 608 runs in 12 matches at an average of 67.55 and an astonishing strike rate of 183.13. He scored 2 centuries and 3 fifties in the season. Gayle later became a mainstay in the RCB squad, becoming a nightmare for the opposition bowlers.