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Several international spinners were left unsold while young Afghanistan spinner Allah Ghazanfar was picked up by Mumbai Indians (MI) for Rs 4.80 crore during the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction at Jeddah on Sunday.
The 18-year-old made his debut for Afghanistan recently. He got six-wicket haul on his debut and has 12 wickets in eight ODIs so far. The youngster attracted bids from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). While RCB gave up early, KKR went deep in the bidding war, but he was eventually acquired Mumbai Indians. Several international spinners like Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Keshav Maharaj (South Africa), Mujeeb ur Rahman (Afghanistan) and Adil Rashid (England) were left unsold. In 190 T20s, Akael has 177 wickets at an average of 24.53 and is also a capable lower-order batter, with 810 runs scored at an average of 14.72 and best score of 44*. For WI, he has taken 57 wickets in 65 matches at an average of 27.89 and has a batting average of 15.07 as well. Maharaj is also another fine spinner from Proteas, having taken 154 wickets in 181 matches at an average of 27.94. He is also a capable lower-order batter, with 760 runs at an average of 15.83 and a strike rate of 107.64, with best score of 45*. Rashid is an all-format legend for England, with 391 wickets in 281 matches at an average of 31.12. He is also the leading wicket-taker for England in T20Is, with 126 scalps in 119 matches. Despite 354 wickets in 316 T20s worldwide, he has managed just one IPL game for Punjab Kings. Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, the Sri Lankan spinner was also left unsold. He has played a T20I and six ODIs for Lankan Lions, having taken one T20 wicket and 16 wickets in 50-overs. In 44 T20s, he has taken 47 wickets at an average of 22.68. The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction on Sunday and Monday is attracting the attention of cricket world with several international stars having entered the auction. Records are expected to be broken and there is possibility of some unexpected crossovers. A total of 574 players have been shortlisted from an initial pool of 1,574 names. The list includes 208 overseas players, 12 uncapped overseas talents, and 318 uncapped Indian players. (ANI)
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