The IPL 2025 mega auction is only a few weeks away! After franchises set up their core teams via player retention, building the remainder of the squad will be the next major challenge.
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While the plethora of overseas player and Indian internationals will dominate the headlines at the auction, there is an underrated set of players who have been making their way up through the domestic level.
The previous auctions have witnessed uncapped players winning lotteries after being picked up by franchises for their core skillsets. In the last mega auction in 2022, Avesh Khan was picked up by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for a massive 10 crores.
Several uncapped players including Yash Dyal, Shahrukh Khan and Harshit Rana were retained by the teams, however, the majority of the others will hope to get picked at the auction.
In this article, The Sporting News takes a look at the most in-demand uncapped players ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction.
IPL 2025 mega auction most in-demand: Overseas batters | Spinners | Indian batters | Wicketkeepers | All-rounders | Uncapped players | Indian Fast bowlers
Who are the most in-demand uncapped players for IPL 2025 mega auction?
1. Angkrish Raghuvanshi
India's top-run getter at the U19 World Cup in 2022, set the stage alight on his IPL debut, where he scored 54 runs off just 27 balls for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
At just 19 years of age, viewers witnessed the raw potential of the youngster on display last time around even though he was not used extensively after that match.
| Year | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50+ scores | 6s | 4s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 7 | 163 | 23.3 | 155.2 | 1 | 8 | 16 |
Mentored by now India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, the Mumbai batter has the ability to clear different parts of the field at will. He revealed his idol to be Mr. 360, Ab de Villiers but said that he hoped to emulate India star, Shubman Gill.
A Raghuvanshi in U19 WC 2022: Innings - 6, Runs - 278, Avg - 46.3, 50+ scores - 2
2. Ashutosh Sharma
The 26-year-old Railways batter was picked up by the Punjab Kings for last season and impressed everyone with his aggressive batting as a finisher for the team alongside Shashank Singh.
Ashutosh played a key role as a finisher and had a great impact on the team, winning multiple matches for the side lower down the order.
| Year | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50+ scores | 6s | 4s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 9 | 189 | 27 | 167.3 | 1 | 15 | 10 |
3. Vaibhav Arora
The Himachal Pradesh pacer made his IPL debut with the Punjab Kings in 2022 but made a name on the big stage at the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) under bowling coach Bharat Arun.
He was a key player for the Kolkata-franchise during their trophy winning 2024 season, particularly as a new ball bowler in the powerplay, where he made breakthrough consistently.
| Year | Innings | Wickets | Economy | Bowl Average | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 | 5 | 9.12 | 29.2 | 2/30 |
| 2024 | 10 | 11 | 9.20 | 25.1 | 3/27 |
| Total | 15 | 16 | 9.17 | 26.4 | 3/27 |
4. Nehal Wadhera
The 24-year-old Punjab batter has been a rising star in domestic cricket but came to the limelight after his late exploits for Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
The southpaw was also selected in the India A side for the Emerging Asia Cup recently and is considered to be a great striker of the ball.
Despite having a good IPL 2023 season, he was benched for the first 7 matches of the 2024 season, but he proved his worth on return, smashing 49 runs off 24 balls against the Rajasthan Royals.
| Year | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50+ scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 10 | 241 | 26.8 | 145.2 | 2 |
| 2024 | 6 | 109 | 18.2 | 129.8 | 0 |
| Total | 16 | 350 | 23.3 | 140.0 | 2 |
Nehal Wadhera for Punjab in Syed Mushtaq Ali 2023/24: Innings - 4, Runs - 128, Avg/SR - 64/162, 50+ scores - 2
5. Vyshak Vijaykumar
The Bengaluru-native's impactful performances for Royal Challengers (RCB) in the IPL and for Karnataka was rewarded with a call up to the India squad for the South Africa T20I series.
He also provides the team with some decent cameos lower down the order, which will come in handy, particularly in the T20 format.
| Year | Innings | Wickets | Economy | Average | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 7 | 9 | 10.54 | 28.1 | 3/20 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4 | 9.79 | 35.5 | 2/23 |
| Total | 11 | 13 | 10.26 | 30.4 | 3/20 |
He was picked up a replacement for the injured Rajat Patidar in IPL 2023 due to his strong output for Karnataka in the SMAT, where he finished joint-fifth for most wickets in the competition.
V Vyshak in Syed Mushtaq Ali 2022/23: Innings - 8, Wickets - 15, Avg/Eco - 12.2/6.31, Best Bowling - 3/5
6. Abhinav Manohar
Karnataka's Abhinav Manohar is a very underrated player in the domestic circuit and has also show his talent in the late middle order for the Gujarat Titans.
He is known for his six-hitting abilities as a finisher and has also shown that he can build up an innings after a batting collapse.
Manohar was under-utilized by the Titans last season, but he will nonetheless be on the radar of several teams after his exploits in the Maharaja T20 trophy 2024.
| Year | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50+ scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7 | 108 | 18 | 144 | 0 |
| 2023 | 6 | 114 | 19 | 137.3 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 56.2 | 0 |
| Total | 15 | 231 | 16.5 | 132.8 | 0 |
Abhinav Manohar in Maharaja T20 2024: Innings - 10, Runs - 507, Avg/SR - 84.5/196.5, 50+ scores - 6
7. Rasikh Salam Dar
Rasikh Dar is a highly rated fast bowler from Jammu & Kashmir and was one of the players that impressed the fans in IPL 2024. He has an ability to bowl at a rapid pace, while also swinging the ball both ways.
Dar was selected in the India emerging squad for the Asia Cup, where he picked up 3 wickets for just 15 runs against UAE, for which he was awarded Player of the Match.
Notably, the pacer has now armed himself with different variations, which will always be valuable skill in the IPL.
| Year | Innings | Wickets | Economy | Strike Rate | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 8 | 9 | 10.98 | 29.9 | 3/34 |
Rasikh Salam in Asia Emerging Cup (for India A) 2024: Innings - 4, Wickets - 9, Avg/Eco - 10.33/7.15, Best bowling - 3/15
8. Akash Madhwal
Madhwal was touted as one of the finds for the Mumbai Indians during his debut season in 2023 and was the team's go-to bowler in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.
He is particularly impressive at the death overs, courtesy of his accuracy with nailing the yorkers in the back end.
However, IPL 2024 was a disappointing season as he managed to play only 5 matches and was very expensive with the ball. The Uttarakhand pacer will be in high demand due to his value in the death overs.
| Year | Innings | Wickets | Economy | Average | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 8 | 15 | 8.59 | 14.6 | 5/5 |
| 2024 | 5 | 5 | 11.28 | 41.0 | 3/20 |
| Total | 13 | 20 | 9.71 | 21.2 | 5/5 |
9. Gurjapneet Singh
The 6.5ft pacer from Tamil Nadu was in the headlines after reports claimed that Virat Kohli had a difficult time facing the bowler during the nets practice in Chennai ahead of the Bangladesh Tests.
The 25-year-old left-arm pacer was also in great form during his debut in the Ranji Trophy where he demolished Saurashtra during his spell of 6/21 in a thumping innings and 70-run victory recently.
He is yet to make his IPL debut but has been a consistent performer in the TNPL, which is considered one of the best domestic T20 leagues in the country.
| Year | Innings | Wickets | Economy | Average | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 9 | 7 | 6.55 | 32.6 | 3/22 |
| 2023 | 8 | 15 | 7.11 | 14.1 | 3/15 |
| 2024 | 7 | 7 | 7.42 | 27.6 | 2/3 |
| Total | 24 | 29 | 6.98 | 21.8 | 3/15 |
10. Anshul Kamboj
The 23-year-old bowling all-rounder was picked up by Mumbai Indians in the last auction. He is expected to fetch big bucks due to his quick pace and ability to contribute runs in the lower order.
He was recently selected in the Duleep Trophy squad for India C, where he picked up 16 wickets in 3 first-class matches, in a competition that also involved several Indian internationals.
Among the 16 wickets, his best figures of 8/69 in an innings came against India B, which was the best bowling figures in his FC career.
| Year | Innings | Wickets | Economy | Bowl Average | Best Bowling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | 2 | 11.40 | 57.0 | 1/24 |
Anshul Kamboj in Syed Mushtaq Ali since 2022: Innings - 4, Wickets - 6, Avg/Eco - 13.5/7.36, BBI - 3/25
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IPL 2025 mega auction hotlist ranking: Uncapped players
| Player | Hotlist Ranking |
|---|---|
| Ashutosh Sharma | WARM |
| Angkrish Raghuvanshi | RED HOT |
| Nehal Wadhera | HOT |
| Akash Madhwal | HOT |
| Abhinav Manohar | RED HOT |
| Vyshak Vijaykumar | HOT |
| Anshul Kamboj | RED HOT |
| Rasikh Salam Dar | RED HOT |
| Vaibhav Arora | HOT |
| Gurjapneet Singh | RED HOT |
| Sameer Rizvi | WARM |
| Harpreet Brar | WARM |
| Tanush Kotian | WARM |
| Shams Mulani | HOT |
| Rajvardhan Hangargekar | WARM |
| Kumar Kushagra | COLD |
| Manav Suthar | WARM |
| Chetan Sakariya | COLD |
| Mahipal Lomror | RED HOT |
| Suyash Sharma | COLD |
MORE: What sets IPL Mega Auction apart from Mini Auction? Differences explained
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