Veteran batter Robin Uthappa, who was recently bought back by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auctions for his base price of Rs 2 crore, has said that he feels for nearly 400 players who went unsold during the two-day mega event. The Karnataka-born batter has shared that players “feel like cattle” during the auction which is “not the most pleasing feeling”.
"The auction feels like an examination which you have written a long time ago, and you're just awaiting the results. You feel like cattle (commodity), to be honest. It's not the most pleasing feeling, and I think that's the thing about cricket, especially in India… everything about you is there for the world to consume and then judge and express their opinions about it. Having an opinion about performances is one thing, but having an opinion on how much you get sold for is quite something else," the 36-year-old said on News 9's Mind over Medals podcast.
In addition, Uthappa suggested that draft system should be introduced in the cash-rich league which will be more respectful towards players. He did not take any names but there were a few major surprises in the auction including Mr. IPL aka Suresh Raina.
"You can't imagine what the guys who don't get sold go through. It cannot be pleasant. My heart goes out to guys who have been there for a long time and then miss out and don't get picked. It can be defeating sometimes. Suddenly your value as a cricketer becomes about how much somebody is willing to spend on you, and it's so haphazard… there is no method to the madness.
"People have tried their best to kind of grapple around it for the last 15 years, and I don't know if they have a clue because if you speak to a lot of the people who have been there at the auction, they'll say 'you know it's so random. if you'd come later you'd probably have made more money… if you'd come earlier there'd have been enough money so you'd have made more'. I really hope for the sake of the sanity of everybody that this goes into a draft system where it is more respectful," concluded Uthappa.
Uthappa played just four matches in the previous season. He scored 115 runs at an average of 28.75 including a half-century against table toppers Delhi Capitals (DC) in the first qualifier.
