3 teams that had a good IPL 2023 auction and 2 teams that didn't
The IPL auction for the upcoming season was held on 23rd December in Kochi. It saw several records being broken - most notably Sam Curran becoming the most expensive player in the history of the tournament after being signed for ₹18.50 crores by the Punjab Kings.
The next edition of the IPL will once again have home & away games, assuming no COVID-19 restrictions come up. Television rights have been sold to Star India while Viacom18 won the digital rights.
3 teams that had a good auction
Largely speaking, franchises were wise at the auction table. They decided to go for players that would be the best fit in their respective setups. However, a few teams seem to have covered more bases than others. Here's a look at three such IPL teams.
#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad
SRH Auction Summary:
Mayank Agarwal is an upgrade to Williamson and saves an overseas spot too.
As a result, Harry Brook comes into the playing XI.
Doble Bonanza.
https://t.co/TzYIit7RMR
This auction was extremely crucial for the Orange Army. They went into the bidding event with a purse of ₹42.25 crores and 13 slots to fill - including 4 overseas. They released Kane Williamson, their captain from the previous season, who was retained for a hefty amount of ₹14 crores.
Their major purchases included Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Henrich Klaasen, and Adil Rashid. They cover 4 important bases - a middle-order aggressor, an experienced Indian top-order batter, a wicket-keeper, and a leg-spinner.
If SRH perform to the best of their abilities, they can prove to be one of the title contenders. They just need to finalize their captain and they will be all set to go in the upcoming edition of the tournament.
#2 Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals made it to the final of IPL 2022. They were impressive throughout the tournament in all major aspects of the game. However, a major issue they had was a lack of batting depth.
They tried to resolve the issue by signing Jason Holder for 5.75 crores. He can also be used as a floater, giving the franchise a lot more flexibility. Their other major signings were Adam Zampa and Joe Root.
The Royals now have good-quality backups for most of their first-choice playing XI. They will definitely be a force to reckon with next season.
#3 Gujarat Titans
The defending champions performed well at the IPL 2023 auction. According to former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer, they look even stronger than last season. They had a purse of ₹19.25 crores and 7 slots to fill.
They roped in former SRH captain Kane Williamson for ₹2 crores. While that may not seem like a wise decision considering his recent form, he could prove to be the glue that holds the Gujarat batting unit together. They also signed Irish pacer Josh Little, who had an incredible T20 World Cup campaign. Shivam Mavi is also a good signing for the Gujarat Titans.
2 teams that did not have a good auction
A few IPL franchises did not end up making very shrewd investments. Here's a look at a couple of such teams.
#1 Mumbai Indians
There is no one like #KeironPollard but MI will be looking to fill those big shoes! 🙌
@DavidHussey29 has his say after an action-packed auction!
#AuctionStar https://t.co/JI7r84Izhr
Mumbai Indians came into the IPL auction with a purse of ₹20.55 crores. They ended up spending a major percentage of that on Australian all-rounder Cameron Green, who was worth ₹17.5 crores and is expected to fit in the Kieron Pollard role. They also roped in Australian fast bowler Jhye Richardson for ₹1.5 crores.
While Green seems like a very promising prospect for the future, he is still relatively underdeveloped in the T20 format. Filling in the shoes of the legendary Kieron Pollard will certainly not be an easy task for the Australian youngster.
Mumbai did not invest in a top-quality spin bowling option but they managed to secure a backup for Jofra Archer in Jhye Richardson.
They could have invested the money in a more balanced manner, covering more bases. However, their squad looks good on paper and they will definitely look to bounce back in the next IPL season.
#2 Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings had a purse of ₹32.20 crores ahead of the IPL auction. However, they came out of the auction with ₹12 crores unspent. They broke the bank on English all-rounder Sam Curran, who was signed for a record-breaking ₹18.50 crores. Sikandar Raza was also a smart buy for 50 lakhs.
Punjab did not invest in a top-quality spin bowler. The reason behind that might be the fact that their four first-choice overseas players are sorted. However, they could have gone for an overseas spinner and adopted a horses for courses selection policy according to their opponent and pitch conditions.