The 2025 IPL auction wound down to a close with plenty of money spread around to a variety of players as franchises constructed their squads for the next cycle of the IPL. While there were big paychecks for some of the game’s biggest stars, and life-changing money for some of the lesser-known players in the pool, there was also an element of disappointment with some as certain players went unsold in the auction.
Here is a look at five of the highest-profile players who missed out on being taken up by a franchise in the 2025 auction.
David Warner
The former Sunrisers Hyderabad captain is an IPL legend by all measures, as a podium finisher in terms of most runs scored in the history of the tournament and an unlikely trophy to show for it as well. Unfortunately for him, the ‘Bull’ wasn’t picked up for this edition. The orange cap winner in 2015, 2017, and 2019, Warner will nonetheless be remembered as one of the IPL’s early greats.
Kane Williamson
Another SRH captain, and another international star from down under, Kane Williamson was another player who couldn’t get a franchise to take his signature. The orange cap winner in 2018 with plenty of experience behind him, Williamson is one of those players that the modern T20 game has passed by.
Prithvi Shaw
Considered one of the most exciting and promising batters for India’s future when he debuted for Delhi in 2018, Prithvi Shaw’s career has not quite panned out despite some successful IPL seasons, and the failure to find an IPL team will be a big step back for a player who has struggled with fitness and discipline but would have wanted to return to the top. With plenty of Indian batting talent, Shaw didn’t quite make the cut.
Jonny Bairstow
One of the most fearsome batters in world cricket in his heyday, a quiet couple of years at the highest level for Englishman Jonny Bairstow has meant that while many of his England teammates have found big-money moves, he remained unsold at the auction. He did score a century for PBKS in 2024, but that wasn’t enough to find him a landing spot for the upcoming season.
Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan has never quite pieced it together in the IPL, with only 40 matches since his debut in 2015, and no games played since a couple of cameo appearances for Delhi Capitals in 2021. Despite known for being a positive and attacking batter in long-form cricket, that hasn’t quite translated for the prolific Mumbai run-maker, but he may find some solace in having seen his brother Musheer earning a maiden IPL contract, joining the Punjab Kings.