Although he was part of the auction of players held the following month for the 2009 Indian Premier League, Shakib was not chosen by any of the eight teams and no bids were made for him despite being rated as the world's highest-ranked ODI all-rounder at the time. His teammate Mashrafe Mortaza, who was bought in the auction, said "I would have been a lot happier if Shakib had got a team because he truly deserved it for his sensational form with the bat and ball". Shakib had no buyers in the 2010 IPL auction as well, which was very surprising considering his stature in international cricket at the time.