The SA20 2025-26 auction saw several prominent cricketers miss out on securing a spot in the upcoming season. South Africa’s Temba Bavuma, who led the team to an ICC title after 27 years, was surprisingly unsold. Despite recent strong performances, no team showed interest in the World Test Championship-winning captain. Bavuma only played a single match in the previous season and has a modest record in the league with 85 runs in 5 matches at an average of 17.00.
Veteran English pacer James Anderson also failed to find a buyer. The record-holding wicket-taker in Test cricket was overlooked, following a similar snub in the IPL 2025. Anderson’s form has been under scrutiny, having taken only two wickets in three matches for Manchester Originals in The Hundred 2025.
Moeen Ali, the experienced England all-rounder, was another notable name left unsold. His recent form, playing for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2025, may have contributed to this outcome. Ali is currently participating in the CPL 2025.
Jason Roy, former England opener, also went unsold. His performances in The Hundred 2025 for Southern Brave were not enough to attract a bid, as he managed only 198 runs in 8 matches at an average of 28.28.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the Afghan wicketkeeper-batsman, also failed to be picked up. His recent form has been a concern, with only 132 runs in the last 10 T20I matches. His IPL 2025 stint with KKR saw him score only 74 runs in 5 matches, and his previous SA20 season with Pretoria Capitals was also unimpressive.
Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh also missed out on a place in the SA20. Despite expressing interest, the Delhi Capitals IPL 2025 player went unsold. Rahman represents Bangladesh in all three formats of the game.