IPL 2017: Nathan Lyon takes 8 wickets, but Aussie bowler was UNSOLD in IPL auction

Have the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchisees missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bid for Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon during the IPL Auction last month? Let's just begin saying that the UNSOLD player just took up eight wickets for the Aussies on the first day of their second test match against India in Bengaluru.

Coming back to haunt the hosts at the highest level, so to say!

Lyon, 29, who made his Test cricket debut in 2011, wreaked havoc to dismiss Virat Kohli's men for 189 runs even before the end of Day 1 -- in a total of in 71.2 overs. Nathan Lyon's figures read at 8 wickets from 50 runs given away from 22.2 overs.

Nicknamed 'GOAT', which stands for the 'Greatest of All Time' by his Aussie teammates for being the only Australian off-spinner so far, with the highest Test wickets. 241 wickets from 65 matches is how his stat at Test cricket stands now, following his eight-wicket haul on Saturday. 

However, is his exploits in Test cricket one of the reasons why the IPL sides thought he wouldn't be too great a performer in the T20 format?

Well, Lyon has never played in the IPL but he is a regular with the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League (BBL) -- the IPL-style tournament in Australia. In 2015, he took 5 wickets for 23 runs during a match for the Sydney Sixers against the Hobart Hurricanes.

Lyon made his T20I debut for Australia in 2016 against India on Jan 29, 2016 -- his only T20I match.

With a base price of 1.5 crore INR at the IPL auction and just one T20I match under his belt, were the IPL franchisee owners doubtful about his possible IPL 2017 performance? Well, that remains the question.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that Nathan Lyon has picked up such a great performance against India in Test cricket. 

Nathan Lyon against India in Test cricket: