The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction countdown has ended. The big day is finally here. Millions of eyes across the globe will be on their television and mobile sets as they see 10 teams locking horns with each other in a bid to make their team a little better in terms of flexibility. But the 405 players who will be going under the hammer will be the most tensed of the lot.
The IPL 2023 auction will be taking place from 2:30 PM (IST) today and we are sure to witness some lucrative deals being bagged by players, teams breaking their banks to secure the services off a few players and some big names being unsold.
In this article, we take a look at 5 things we can expect at the IPL 2023 auction today at Kochi:
1. KKR going for a wicket-keeper batter
Having released Sheldon Jackson and Sam Billing pulling out of IPL 2023, KKR desperately need a wicket-keeper batter in their team. They might bid for the likes of Narayan Jagadeeshan and KS Bharath. We can expect KKR to bid for some good and promising domestic talents as their Head Coach Chandrakant Pandit is a doyen of the Indian coaching fraternity. He has 3 Ranji Trophy wins under his belt as a coach.
2. Sam Curran or Ben Stokes to be the highest bid player
The likes of Sam Curran and Ben Stokes always offer a lot on the table. They are extremely versatile players and can contribute the bat as well as with the ball. Ben Stokes was bought for a whopping Rs. 12.5 crores by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchise in 2018. We can expect the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) franchise or the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise to break the bank for them. This is because they have Rs. 42.25 crores and Rs. 32.2 crores respectively in their purse.
3. Some big Indian name to go unsold
There are high probabilities that Ajinkya Rahane or Manish Pandey go unsold in the IPL 2023 auction. Both of them have not been able to impress their franchises in IPL 2022 and therefore they were released by them. While Rahane mustered 133 runs in 7 IPL matches in 2022, Pandey scored 88 runs in 6 games.
4. Kane Williamson might go to CSK
Having being released by the SRH franchise, Kane Williamson is back in the auction pool. The biggest frontrunner to get hold off the Kiwi captain would be the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). In all probability this is the last IPL season of the legendary MS Dhoni and CSK would be ideally looking for a new captain for IPL 2024 and the seasons after that. This is where Williamson could be utilized by the CSK franchise.
5. RCB can go for a back-up all-rounder
Glenn Maxwell suffered a freak leg injury after a birthday party post the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. He has been out of action for quite some time and underwent surgery as well. With a cloud of uncertainty hovering over his participation in IPL 2023, RCB might go for a back-up all-rounder to replace Maxwell.
Also read: IPL Auction 2023: 3 Big names that could go unsold this year
