KKR captain Gautam Gambhir had a good explanation as to why Ishant Sharma remained unsold in the IPL auction for the 10th edition of the Indian league. Ishant Sharma was released by Rising Pune Supergiants after the last season.

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Gambhir, speaking during the mid-auction break said, “I was surprised to see Ishant Sharma’s base price. I think it was too high.” Ishant Sharma’s base price in the auction was Rs. 2 Cr. In comparison, Ben Stokes, Mitchell Johnson, Eoin Morgan and Anjlo Matthwes also had the same base price.

Ishant Sharma, however, being just a fast bowler might have over-estimated his worth as a bowler’s job is just for those four particular overs in the game. Ben Stokes or Angelo Matthews for example give the buyers a better bang for their buck because of their all-round play, a fact Gambhir stressed upon.

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Another IPL franchise owner also reiterated Gambhir’s stance on the fast bowler, “Ishant Sharma shouldn’t have kept his base price at INR 2 crores. Firstly, he doesn’t play for India in T20s and (is) not considered a white ball bowler. He is only playing Test cricket. Ideally, he should have shed his ego and kept his base price in the range of INR 30 lakhs. Varun Aaron gained just because of that even though Ishant probably has more quality.” 

While Ishant would have been a value addition to any side, this season he’ll have to be content watching the games live on television.