The IPL 2025 mega auction has brought some surprising twists with Shardul Thakur and Prithvi Shaw going unsold on the last day of the two-day mega event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After the IPL 2025 auction, it was revealed why Shardul Thakur and Prithvi Shaw were not sold.

Ricky Ponting, the legendary Australian cricketer and current head coach of Punjab Kings (PBKS), worked with Prithvi Shaw and Shardul Thakur when he was head coach of Delhi Capitals (DC) until the 2024 season in the Indian Premier League (IPL). ).

Ricky Ponting calls IPL 2025 mega auction snub sad for Shardul Thakur and Prithvi Shaw

They are some of the surprising names that have not found a buyer in the auction, sparking widespread discussions, leaving many baffled, but Ponting feels that they do not have that spark that IPL needs in this rapidly evolving format of the game.

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Just two years ago, Shardul Thakur was a prized asset but he failed to generate any interest in this auction despite his strong all-rounder skills and notable past.

Thakur had been bought for a hefty amount of INR 10.75 crore in the 2022 auction, but his base price of INR 2 crore failed to attract buyers in the recent IPL 2025 mega auction.

Ricky Ponting reflects on Shardul Thakur’s decline

Thakur’s high base price is said to have failed to attract any franchises, while some blame the timing of his bid for not selling in the mega auction. Also, the Impact Player rule, which has changed the team’s strategies, could have affected the demand for all-rounders like Thakur, a franchise insider said, according to Cricbuzz.

Reacting to the same, Ricky Ponting expressed surprise that Shardul did not sell at the auction. The Australian legend also noted that Thakur was a hot commodity two years ago, but now his value has fallen sharply, saying the game seems to have caught up with him.

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Cricbuzz quoted Ricky Ponting as saying: “The game catches up with you, doesn’t it? So, you know, Shardul, just a couple of years ago, I think we paid around INR 10 crore for it at auction. And now it’s not. Now it is not sold.”

Ponting feels ‘sad’ for talented Prithvi Shaw

Meanwhile, Ponting also expressed his disappointment over Prithvi Shaw’s situation and called him the best talent he had worked with. Once compared to Sachin Tendulkar, Prithvi Shaw’s career has faltered due to indiscipline and fitness issues. Prithvi Shaw was recently dropped from the Mumbai Ranji team.

Ponting signed off saying: “Sad. You know, Prithvi, I still say he’s the most talented player I’ve probably ever worked with. It remains unsold at auction and then does not even step on the accelerator again. And there are a lot of teams here that are looking at it. He’s not playing. But like I said, the game catches up with you. So, yeah, I guess that. Yes, that’s all you can say. When you look at something like that, it’s actually quite sad that he’s not there…”

Additionally, a senior coach of the franchise, who has been involved in auction planning for more than a decade, said that franchises are looking for players who possess strong six-hitting ability and can knock bowlers off the first ball, without the players falling. They are not sold in this category.

“Why didn’t some of those players sell? It’s probably a combination of form and performance. The ability to hit sixes is paramount now,” the coach was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

While talking about the bowlers, the coach said that offensive and defensive bowlers are in demand and players like Shardul Thakur, who do not fall into any of the categories, are not valued enough. He said:

“For bowlers, types of balls that induce wickets (attacking bowler) or a template that ensures a bowler is bowling a high level of defensive type pitches (defensive bowler) that are based on consistency of length, etc.”