From unsold to unstoppable - best replacement players in IPL

After eight straight seasons in the IPL, Shardul Thakur went unsold at the auction prior to IPL 2025. He made a statement in the last Ranji Trophy season, taking 29 wickets in six matches and also hitting a hundred and three fifties. He was scheduled to play county cricket with Essex when LSG asked him to replace the injured Mohsin Khan. It was on the cards - Thakur had been training with LSG before the season. He took six wickets in the first two matches of the season, even winning the Player-of-the-Match award in LSG's win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). While his 1 for 40 against Mumbai Indians (MI) might not look spectacular, he conceded just seven runs in the 19th over, giving his team the clear edge in a tense finish.

Along with Sunil Narine, Phil Salt was responsible for getting Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) off to blazing starts in their victorious IPL 2024 campaign. He hit 296 of his 435 runs inside the powerplay, at a strike rate of 185.00. Salt finished the season as KKR's second-highest run-getter and played a critical role in taking them to the playoffs, after which he had to leave for England duty. All after going unsold at the auction and only getting in because Jason Roy had pulled out.

Rarely has an overseas youngster made an impact on an IPL season as quickly as Jake Fraser-McGurk did in IPL 2024. The 22-year-old Australian was picked by Delhi Capitals (DC) two weeks into the season as a replacement for the injured Lungi Ngidi - a batter for a bowler - and he swiftly cornered all the attention. He faced all of 141 balls in the nine matches that he played in the season and still finished as DC's third-highest run-getter with 330 runs at a barely believable strike rate of 234.04.

Seamer Sandeep Sharma, the IPL veteran, had gone unsold at the 2023 auction but found himself with Rajasthan Royals (RR) because Prasidh Krishna had been ruled out with a back injury. In only his second game back, against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), he defended five runs off the final ball against MS Dhoni. He had an even better season with the ball in 2024, where he picked up 13 wickets in 11 appearances at an economy of 8.18, and was among RR's six retentions ahead of IPL 2025.

Rajat Patidar, the current RCB captain, was let go after just four games in IPL 2021 and went unsold at the following mega auction. But midway through IPL 2022, he returned to the squad as an injury replacement for Luvnith Sisodia, and hasn't looked back since. Patidar scored 333 runs in eight matches that season, including a stunning century in the Eliminator. After sitting out the next edition owing to a heel injury, Patidar bounced back with a strong IPL 2024 and was named RCB captain ahead of this year's campaign.

Umran Malik had played just one List A match and one T20 when he joined SRH as a short-term Covid-time replacement for T Natarajan. He got his chance only after SRH were out of the playoffs' race but made an immediate impact by clocking 150kph on his IPL debut. Despite playing just three games, he was retained by SRH ahead of IPL 2022. Umran showcased his full potential that season with 22 wickets and even clocked 156.9kph - the fastest delivery by an Indian bowler in the tournament.