After not being purchased in the IPL 2024 Auction, Phil Salt says, “It was a confusing morning, I expected to be picked up.”

Tuesday, December 19, saw England make a spectacular comeback in the Caribbean as they overcame the West Indies in the fourth Twenty20 International to even the five-match series. Phil Salt was outstanding with the bat once more, striking seven fours and ten sixes on his way to an incredible 119 off just 57 balls. He became just the second men’s player to score a century in T20Is with this, his second consecutive century.

After bowling out the West Indies for 192, England amassed a massive 267/3 thanks to a century from Salt and fifties from captains Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone. At the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction earlier in the day, Phil Salt did not sell. Regretfully, he failed to locate any buyers while maintaining a base price of Rs 1.5 crore. The IPL franchises were the target of a not-so-subtle jab from the England Cricket Board (ECB) on social media following Salt’s ton.

cc: @IPL #EnglandCricket | #WIvENG pic.twitter.com/peyVM3TY68

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 19, 2023

It was a perplexing morning when we anticipated being picked up. Phil Salt

In 2023, Salt played for the Delhi Capitals and made his IPL debut. He had a respectable performance, amassing 218 runs at a strike rate of 163.91 and an average of 27.25 in nine games. The Bodelwyddan-born player was among a number of players released by the Delhi-based team last month, despite finishing eighth in the standings. Salt, who has 601 runs at an average of 35.35 and a strike rate of 165.56 in 19 T20I innings, was unable to secure a contract despite the fact that many foreign wicketkeepers were able to find teams at the auction.

The 27-year-old claimed to be taken aback by his lack of attention at the IPL auction in 2024, considering he thought he performed admirably in the lucrative tournament the previous year. He was nevertheless pleased for a few of his comrades who were selected.

“The morning was unclear. After being there and doing well the year before, I expected to be picked up, but these things do happen. It occurs in draft procedures as well as as part of the lottery for an auction. Salt remarked following his valiant performance in the 4th T20I, “There are a few lads in our dressing room who are going to have a very good Christmas and I’m over the moon for them.”