The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released an exhaustive list of all the 405 players shortlisted for the upcoming 2023 player auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Out of 405, 273 are Indian players while 132 are overseas of which four players are from associate nations.
Since this is a mini-auction, most teams have a set of players, who will form their core, which means every team just needs to plug a few holes in their squads. Only 87 spots are up for grabs, out of which 30 are overseas. While several international players have already been retained by their respective franchises, a few were released too. The ones released and the ones who weren’t part of the auction but are established superstars of the game, will attract bids and could trigger some serious bidding wars.
The BCCI released the order and the sets in which the names of the players will be presented and the biggest one will be the all-rounders. In what could be a bloodshed (figuratively), all the seven players included in the marquee all-rounders set are set to find multiple takers, despite no Indian being in the list.
The England duo of Sam Curran and Ben Stokes will be in huge demand. Stokes (INR 2 crore) might not be a considered the best T20 player around, however, with the experience he has and the number of times he has been able to thrive in crunch situations makes him one of the top picks. Curran (INR 2 crore) was the player of the tournament in the T20 World Cup 2022 and was one of the big reasons behind England’s win. A bowler, who can bowl in all phases, is a terrific fielder and a great late order batter, is worth its weight in gold.
Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza (INR 50 Lakh) was one of the stories of the T20 World Cup. A gun middle-order batter and a terrific spin bowler, Raza is bound to find a couple of franchises fighting for him. Next in the list will be veteran Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (INR 1.5 crore), who missed the 2022 edition but will be in demand having registered this time around.
Jason Holder (INR 2 crore) was the biggest surprise as Lucknow Super Giants despite getting him at nominal price, released him. Holder apart from batting and bowling, offers leadership skills and a couple of teams are looking for a captain.
West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith (INR 50 Lakh) may not have had a great season in the tournament in 2022, but being someone, who hits the long ball and can bowl at pace of 140 km/hr-plus., he can get a couple of teams going for him. Last and the least will be the newest all-round sensation Cameron Green (INR 2 crore). Green took the T20 circuit by storm smashing two quickfire fifties against India while opening the batting and being a proven international performer, who also bowls high pace, you can guess the amount he will fetch.
