Shakib unsold in IPL mega auction

Bangladesh premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been unsold in the first call in the mega auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Shakib was one of the players bracketed in the highest base price - INR 2 crore.

The premier player of the world has recently made another record by being adjudged man of the match for the five consecutive matches in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). No other player could be the man of the match for five times in a row in the T20 tournament in any part of the world.

Therefore, the expectation was high on him but no one in the auction showed their interest to recruit him. He will be put up for auction again on day two.

Shakib was likely to be unavailable for the IIPL 2022  from 08 to 23 May, with Bangladesh set to play two Tests against Sri Lanka during that time which is a part of the 2021–2023 ICC World Test Championship. 

According to reports, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) informed the IPL authorities that Shakib won't be available for the Indian T20 league during the business end of the tournament.

However, another huge Bangladeshi name Mustafizur Rahman will be available for the entire IPL 2022 edition as he is not in plans for the Bangladesh Test team.

Out of the 14 seasons of the IPL, Shakib participated in nine of them. Picked by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2011, the all-rounder was an important member of the two title-winning sides in 2012 and 2014.

In 2018, Shakib was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad and the all-rounder returned to KKR in 2021. Shakib has 793 runs and 63 wickets from 71 matches in the tournament.

Shakib has played 71 matches in IPL and scored 793 runs in 52 innings at an average of 19.83. He has just two half-centuries under his belt in the IPL. He hit 73 fours and 21 sixes in the IPL, the world's most attractive T20 tournament.

On the other hand, he took 63 wickets with the cherry, conceding 7.44 runs per over with no four or five-wicket haul.