England opener Phil Salt smashed records for fun on December 19, the day when he went unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. The fourth T20I between England and West Indies commenced a few years after auction ended and Salt made sure he showed the franchises what they missed with a blazing 119-run knock off 57 balls that led England to a record total of 267 runs in their 20 overs.
Salt hit seven fours and 10 sixes during his innings. Moreover, it was his second consecutive century making him the third player to achieve the feat in the shortest format and it seems there was a bit of a disappointment for him personally of going unsold in the auction. He admitted the same after the match terming his feelings as 'confused'. But the cricketer understood the dynamics of the auction and said that he is happy for his other teamates - Chris Woakes, Harry Brook and Gus Atkinson who found takers at thew auction. "It was a confusing morning. I expected to be picked up, having gone there last year and done well and after the year that I've had, but these things happen.
"It's part of the lottery of an auction, it happens in draft processes as well. There's a few lads in our dressing room who are going to have a very good Christmas and I'm over the moon for them. I was a bit confused but it can happen. There's no bad cricketers on the list at the IPL. It's one of those things," Salt said.
Interestingly, Salt played for Delhi Capitals last season who had picked him up for INR 2 crore. The wicketkeeper-batter did well too scoring 218 runs in nine matches at a strike-rate of 163.91. This time around, Salt had kept his base price of INR 1.5 crore but didn't find any takers much to his disappointment.
"It was probably a little bit of it, subconsciously. I'm very aware of how lucky I am to be here playing cricket. I'm playing good cricket, I'm doing what I came out here to do. More importantly than that, the boys have really pulled together and shown what a good team we are. The West Indies are a very good side that we're playing against so to win back-to-back games and force the decider in a couple of days' time, I'm chuffed," Salt further added.
