Shaun Marsh and Dilshan (Twitter)
The highly-anticipated auction for the Legends League Cricket 2024 concluded recently. All the teams associated with the tournament participated in the auction for the mega event, and bid for their choice of players, adding them to the respective squads.
All in all, a total of 97 players were roped in by the six participants – Manipal Tigers, Urbanrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Giants, India Capitals, Southern Superstars, and Konark Suryas Odisha.
Despite a flurry of activity resulting in the distribution of some top-notch international players across different franchises, there were quite a few players who could be very well labelled as glaring omissions.
Top 5 players who went unsold in the LLC 2024 auction
5. Aaron Finch
Australia’s T20 World Cup-winning skipper, Aaron FInch, had quite a scorching campaign at the 2024 edition of the World Championship of Legends. With literally the world of T20 experience under his belt which includes playing for a total of nine different franchises in the IPL coupled with representing the Melbourne Renegades for 107 matches, Finch’s exclusion for the LLC 2024 edition could be counted as one to have been a startling one.
4. Ben Cutting
Despite having a relatively short international career spanning just around 4.5 years, Ben Cutting has always been in and around the T20 setup when it comes to representing various franchises around the globe. Other than the clean swing of the bat which he brings to the table, his accurate medium-pace is another asset of his which has been quite handy to the sides he has represented. Considering his all-round brilliance, Cutting goes down as another such player whose exclusion from LLC 2024 will be talked about.
3. Shaun Marsh
Another Australian cricketer featuring in the list is the attacking opening batter Shaun Marsh. His dominance has been such that his combative nature has even spilled on to the longer formats of the game on quite a few occasions. No franchise opting to cash in on the former Aussie cricketer came in as a surprise, especially considering the demonstrated prowess which the swashbuckling southpaw has displayed in the 20-over format over the years.
2. TM Dilshan
Although the pioneer of the ramp shot has been out of the cricketing arena for a while, with his last cricketing expedition being the previous edition of the LLC played last year, not many can question the vast amount of white-ball seasoning Dilshan has garnered over the years. While retiring at a time where the T20 format was picking up in terms of the frequency, Dilshan made sure he wasn’t missing out on any of the action by partaking in a catalogue of the format.
Also Read: Legends League 2024 Auction: 5 Most Expensive Players
1. Martin Guptill
While Guptill’s Test career was a start-stop one, he sure did ensure to not make his white-ball career follow a similar path. One of the most elegant batters while executing the short-arm pull on one leg, Guptill has consistently made a striking presence in whichever team he has represented in the franchise cosmos with his enterprising display of ragingly purposeful shots. His non-inclusion could be yet again considered as one which comes out as a huge surprise.
