On December 16, Phil Salt scored an unbeaten 109 off 56 balls. Indian Premier League (IPL) auction was on December 19 where he went unsold. A few hours later, he again smacked 119 runs off 57 balls to become only the third cricketer to score consecutive centuries in T20Is. Such dramatic ups and downs happened in the life of England opener Phil Salt.
The man has showcased his ability to be the fierce hitter of the ball on multiple occasions before and showed it just before the auction. But his efforts weren’t enough to land him a deal on a day when two Australian cricketers churned out more than 20 crore.
Phil Salt disappointed after IPL snub
Understandably, Phil Salt was disappointed at not being picked especially after having a decent season with the Delhi Capitals in IPL 2023. In Rishabh Pant’s absence, Salt played nine matches and scored 218 runs at an impressive strike-rate of 163.91. He was released only to go unsold despite lowering his base price to INR 1.5 crore.
“It was a confusing morning. I expected to be picked up, having gone there last year and done well and after the year that I've had, but these things happen. I was a bit confused but it can happen. There are no bad cricketers on the list at the IPL. It's one of those things,” Salt said after the fourth T20I against the West Indies even as his knock helped England level the five-match series.
Phil Salt also admitted that not being picked by any team at the IPL auction was somehow at the back of his mind when he played the whirlwind knock.
“It was probably a little bit of it, subconsciously. I'm very aware of how lucky I am to be here playing cricket. I'm playing good cricket, I'm doing what I came out here to do. More importantly than that, the boys have pulled together and shown what a good team we are. The West Indies are a very good side that we're playing against so to win back-to-back games and force the decider in a couple of days' time, I'm chuffed,” he added.
On the same IPL auction day, a few of his England teammates – Chris Woakes, Harry Brook and Gus Atkinson found takers and Phil Salt is happy for them. While Harry Brook went for INR 4 crore to Delhi Capitals, Chris Woakes was picked by Punjab Kings for 4.2 crore. On the other hand, Gus Atkinson was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 1 crore.
“It's part of the lottery of an auction, it happens in draft processes as well. There's a few lads in our dressing room who are going to have a very good Christmas and I'm over the moon for them,” England’s T20I opener added.
