No takers for James Anderson in IPL 2025 mega auction

While regarded as the modern-day legend, James Anderson found no takers in the IPL 2025 mega auction. The seasoned English seamer concluded his illustrious international career, which lasted over decades, earlier this year. The highest wicket-taker for England in the longest format, however, doesn't have similar credentials to his game in the shorter format. It was as back as a decade when Anderson last played a T20 game. Moreover, with sporadic appearances, Anderson has played only 44 games in the format, picking up 44 wickets. Despite heading into the IPL auction with the belief that he still had much to "give the game" as a player, none of the ten IPL franchises expressed interest in securing his services for the high-stakes competition.

James Anderson finds no place in IPL 2025

After pulling the curtains on his historic international career, the 42-year-old James Anderson registered in the IPL 2025 mega auction. While Anderson swiftly transitioned into a coaching role for the English Test team, Anderson homed a desire to continue within the sport as a player. With IPL being the leading league in the world, the English seamer joined the auction pool. Moreover, the seamer expressed that joining the league would help him in career as a coach ahead.

“There is still something in me that thinks I can still play," Anderson had said then. “I’ve never experienced the IPL, so for a number of reasons I feel I have more to give as a player,” he added. “I have done a little bit of coaching since I finished in the summer. I have been around the England team. I’ve done a bit of mentoring, or whatever you’d like to call it. Opening my eyes to something like that, experiencing it, might help me grow my knowledge of the game and help me further down the line," the seamer explained.

While fans stayed excited to see how the auction treated Anderson, none of the ten IPL teams mustered interest in the legendary Test player. James Anderson's hopes of featuring in the IPL were dashed as franchises overlooked him on Day 2 of the IPL auction in Jeddah. After the initial bidding rounds, the 10 franchises shortlisted 143 players for the accelerated round, covering entries from numbers 117 to 557, but Anderson’s name was notably absent. The veteran England pacer, who entered the auction as its oldest participant, had set a base price of 1.25 crore.