5 players who went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction but will feature in SMAT 2024 final ft. Prithvi Shaw

Mumbai will take on Madhya Pradesh in the final of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, December 15.

While Mumbai arrived at the final via a six-wicket win over Baroda in the semi-final, Madhya Pradesh booked their slot thanks to a power-packed performance that resulted in a seven-wicket win over Delhi.

Several players who will turn out for both sides in the final featured in the IPL auction held in November in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. However, not all were fortunate enough to get picked by franchises.

Some of these players went unsold, and know that they have the biggest platform at their disposal - the final of SMAT - to showcase to the franchises what a big mistake they made in overlooking them.

In this listicle, we take a look at five players who went unsold at the IPL auction but will feature in the final.

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#1 Prithvi Shaw (Mumbai)

One of the biggest names to go unsold in this auction was Prithvi Shaw. The Mumbai and India opener seems to have fallen on hard times after his rapid rise to fame early on in his international career, and seems to be struggling to come to terms with his newfound success.

Shaw will feature for Mumbai in the SMAT final on Sunday, opening the innings alongside the veteran Ajinkya Rahane. Although he got out for eight in the semi-final against Baroda, Shaw has the potential to take the game away from their opponents inside the first six overs of the powerplay.

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#2 Shardul Thakur (Mumbai)

Seamer Shardul Thakur was another big name missing from the 'sold' list of players in the IPL 2025 auction. The Palghar-born cricketer has played for five IPL teams in his career - Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rising Pune Supergiant and Punjab Kings - but will have to give 2025 a miss.

Thakur is a valuable option both with bat and ball in hand in T20 cricket, and it was strange to see him not get picked by any franchise at all. The fact that he picked up just five wickets in nine matches for CSK last season must have gone against him tremendously.

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#3 Hardik Tamore (Mumbai)

Mumbai wicketkeeper-batter Hardik Tamore is another player who was unfortunate to not get picked by any franchise in the auction. Tamore is a hard-hitting batter who can operate both at the top order or in the middle, and it was strange to see him not get sold in the auction.

The 27-year-old has featured extensively in Mumbai's ongoing SMAT campaign, although the last time he got to bat was four matches ago against Nagaland in Hyderabad. He has not walked out to bat in Mumbai's last four matches as he is slotted in at the lower middle order.

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#4 Atharva Ankolekar (Mumbai)

The young Atharva Ankolekar also missed out on getting picked by a franchise, but will feature for Mumbai in the final on Sunday. The left-arm spinner has often shown class and composure beyond his years, and has been a vital player for his state in the knockout stages of the SMAT.

Always in competition with the evergreen Shams Mulani (who too went unsold), the 24-year-old Ankolekar has also played for India Under-19 in the past.

He is a more than handy all-round cricketer who has picked up nine wickets in 14 T20 matches in his career so far while boasting of a strike rate of 126 with the bat.

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#5 Tripuresh Singh (Madhya Pradesh)

Madhya Pradesh batter Tripuresh Singh too found himself on the wrong end of things at the auction as no franchise seemed keen to bid for him. The 22-year-old has played in seven T20s for MP in his career so far, and has a highly impressive strike rate of 170 albeit with a low average of 17.

Singh did not get to bat in MP's semifinal win over Delhi on Friday, but is likely to play a big role for them in the final on Sunday. He is expected to come lower down the order and hit the ball out of the park to try and wreak some havoc upon the settled and experienced Mumbai bowling attack.