With a packed cricket calendar, 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 who could still make it to IPL 2025.
The mega auction for IPL 2025 held in November threw up quite a few surprises with several big names missing out on participants. The cash-rich Indian Premier League is the pinnacle of franchise cricket and with a large pool of players, many quality players miss out.
The most recent auction saw the continuation of a trend in which franchises looked to back younger, fresher talent. Among the unsold names 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.
Ben Duckett
Ben Duckett, the left-hand opening batsman, who is leading the charge for England’s Bazzball style of batting in Test cricket, is in the form of his life. He had an outstanding 2024, where he accumulated more than 1,500 international races in three formats.
Duckett also did well for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League, scoring 243 runs in seven innings at an average of 34.71 and a strike rate of 154.77.
The 30-year-old batsman is considered one of the best foreign batsmen against spin, which is vital to success in the subcontinent. An option for the left and can also retain windows. With how many boxes it ticks, the fact that it hasn’t sold is, to say the least, baffling.
David Warner
David Warner is one of the best players to have played in the IPL with a career that only a few can match. At his peak, he carried the entire Sunrisers Hyderabad batting unit on his back. But each one gets older and last year he didn’t have a very good time in the League.
In a season when batting records frequently fell, Warner could only make 168 runs in eight innings at an average of 21 and a strike rate of 134. With concerns over his form and having been retired from international cricket, the left-hand batsman was ignored by IPL Franchises.
However, Warner has put his name up for any replacement bid with his performance in the Big Bash League. He leads the season run-scoring chart with 324 runs at an average of 54 and an average of 141.
An experienced player with proven track record and form on his side, Warner could well get a chance to light up the IPL once again.
Mayank Agarwal
In 2021, Mayank Agarwal was having a dream career in the IPL for Punjab Kings. After two consecutive excellent seasons, he was given the reins of captaincy for IPL 2022 after the departure of KL Rahul. Things, however, took a drastic turn and he now finds himself without an IPL contract.
Agarwal, who made 864 runs at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 147 during 2020-21, had a terrible year as captain with just 196 runs in 12 innings. He was released later and his luck also did not change at Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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However, all is not lost for Agarwal as he may be chosen as a replacement player after a strong performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The Karnataka opener ranks second in the run-scoring table with 619 runs at an average of 101 and an average of 109.
