IPL Auction 2017: 5 players who are likely to go unsold

Nathan Lyon

Battling against public perception isn't easy but that is exactly what Nathan Lyon has had to do throughout his career. How else can you explain the fact that despite picking up more than a wicket a game and going at just over 7 in his T20 career, Lyon has played almost double the amount of Tests as he has T20s?

However, the 29-year-old off-spinner's biggest hurdle to being picked in the IPL Auction 2017 isn't perception as much as competition from not just younger spinners, but also those with a much lower base price. With a base price of INR 1.5 crore, Lyon won't come cheap and with a limited budget, the possibility of release next year and the fact that he hasn't played as many T20s might count against Lyon.

But the off-spinner, who has never played in the IPL, has competition from the likes of Imran Tahir, Brad Hogg, Ish Sodhi, Rashid Khan (all proven T20 performers) and also the likes of Mitchell Santner, Pawan Negi, Karn Sharma (who also provide a handy option with the bat) and all those players have a base price of INR 50 lakh or less, which might mean the franchises opt for one of them ahead of the Australian with nearly 250 international wickets.