England captain Eoin Morgan went unsold in the IPL 2022 mega auction after leading Kolkata Knight Riders to the final last season. The development came as a shock to many but it can also be attributed to Morgan’s lean form with the bat. However, the England captain believed that he’d get sold in the second round which wasn’t meant to be.
The IPL 2022 mega auction proved to be nothing short of a frenzy. As many as 590 players went under the hammer over the course of the two days in Bengaluru. Players like Ishan Kishan, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer, Liam Livingstone, Nicholas Pooran fetched extremely attractive prices during the auction.
There were also several notable exclusions and rejections during the mega-auction. England captain Eoin Morgan was one of many players who went unsold during the two-day event. Despite setting his base price at INR 1.5 crore, Morgan didn’t attract any suitors despite leading Kolkata Knight Riders to the final of IPL 2021.
Eoin Morgan had made his debut in IPL 2010 and spent several years with many different franchises. Speaking to Evening Standard, the 2019 World Cup winning captain said that he expected to get a deal during the auction as many franchises were looking for an experienced T20 batter and captain while also adding that he believed his best chance was in the second round of the auction.
“I thought my best chance was to be picked up in the second round once squads had been put together, if someone needed help as a reserve middle order, experienced player, captain, whatever. But by the time the first round finished, pretty much every team had boxed that off, so I had no chance. I won’t play any cricket for two months at least, regardless of opportunities that present themselves. I have decided to take time away given the year we have ahead.”
Eoin Morgan has had a horrible time with the bat in the IPL lately. He had a disaster of a season with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2021, scoring just 133 runs in 17 games at an average of 11.08. He also failed to shine during the T20 World Cup and scored only 40 runs in six matches while striking at below 120.
The World Cup-winner has admitted that he hasn’t been in the best of forms lately and is hoping to work on his game and iron out his issues.
“It’s a fact that I have not scored enough runs. I’d agree. I am viewing it as a challenge that I have been through before and I’m hoping to come out the other side. I will be using this break to recharge, but also to have a little bit of time to work on things that you don’t have time to work on while you are in competition.”
