Stars missing out on the IPL bandwagon

As the 11th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) looms around the corner, here's a look at the top stars who will miss out on the season.

Photo: TONY ASHBY

The magnitude of losing Nathan Coulter-Nile will be known only after Royal Challengers Bangalore kicks off its IPL 2018 campaign. He was one of the frontline pace bowlers who had been picked by the Bengaluru-based franchise for Rs 2 crore at the auction in January. The franchise perhaps expected that he will recover from the lower spinal stress fracture and be fit to play the IPL this season. A fortnight before the season gets underway, RCB has replaced the Western Australia quick with an under-cooked Corey Anderson of New Zealand. Coulter-Nile picked up 15 wickets in IPL 2017 and was one of the star performers for his former franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, in bowling RCB out for 46!

420 runs, two hundreds and one of the prolific openers of the season, Hashim Amla, who played for Kings XI Punjab in 2017 and had set his base price at Rs 1.5 crore, surprisingly had no takers. Scoring at a strike rate of 145.83, Amla had also proved that he could bat a good tempo at the top of the order. Amla's form in Test cricket has, however, been considerably below his standards since the start of 2018.

Photo: R. V. Moorthy

Indian pacer Ishant Sharma found no takers during the auction. He was last seen in action for Kings XI Punjab last season, where he featured in six games but didn't manage a wicket. Ishant will now join Sussex for the first two months of the English county season.

Photo: K. Pichumani (File Photo)

Andhra captain Hanuma Vihari, who had a stellar domestic season, was surprisingly snubbed in the IPL auctions. The right-handed batsman hit his first triple-hundred in the Ranji Trophy last year, and more recently, he struck a massive 183 in the Irani Cup, but the Rest of India team ended up on the losing side. It remains a little shocking that despite being in such good form, he failed to received an IPL contract.

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The magnitude of losing Nathan Coulter-Nile will be known only after Royal Challengers Bangalore kicks off its IPL 2018 campaign. He was one of the frontline pace bowlers who had been picked by the Bengaluru-based franchise for Rs 2 crore at the auction in January. The franchise perhaps expected that he will recover from the lower spinal stress fracture and be fit to play the IPL this season. A fortnight before the season gets underway, RCB has replaced the Western Australia quick with an under-cooked Corey Anderson of New Zealand. Coulter-Nile picked up 15 wickets in IPL 2017 and was one of the star performers for his former franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, in bowling RCB out for 46!