3 teams that should look to sign Sam Curran in IPL 2023 Auction

After becoming the youngest-ever Player of the Tournament in the 2022 T20 World Cup, which team will not want to sign Sam Curran, right?

Not many thought England would be able to replace Jofra Archer as effectively as they did. But out of Curran's 13 wickets - the most for England in a T20 World Cup - nine came in the death overs. He had an economy rate of 6.56 - the fourth-best among those who bowled at least 30 balls - in that phase of matches.

A death-overs specialist who is brilliant with using angles and ground dimensions, a left-hand seamer with an awkward bouncer, and someone who can swing the ball early, these are the skills IPL teams look for in three different players.

Curran has IPL experience, has single-handedly won Test matches with his batting, and can perform under pressure (he had figures of 3/12 in the World Cup final) for good measure. He's likely to be the hottest property in the 2023 auction.

Not every team has the flexibility to try for him. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), for example, have under ₹10 crore in their purses. The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) have released Jason Holder and have enough in their bag to compete, but they need a batting all-rounder like Ben Stokes more than Curran.

Below, we'll discuss three teams that can and should try to sign the 24-year-old and lock him in as one of their core players:

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#1 Mumbai Indians (purse remaining: ₹20.55 crore)

The five-time champions will be under immense pressure to sign an all-rounder. Not only have they lost an iconic player in Kieron Pollard, who has retired and will now be their batting coach, but have also released Daniel Sams and Fabian Allen. This leaves only Hrithik Shokeen as their all-rounder option.

Curran solves a lot of issues for Rohit Sharma's team. If Jofra Archer is fit for the season (it's still uncertain), it will make them one of the best T20I fast-bowling attacks. If Archer isn't fit, Curran will smoothly play the role he played for England, and might improve their economy rate which was second-worst last season.

Unlike the Super Giants, MI don't need a hard-hitting all-rounder because they already have Tim David and Tilak Varma for that role. Curran will only make the tail longer. He can also play the floater and pinch-hitter when needed, something which Rohit might want to try to get a quick start in the powerplay.

He will eat their budget but will enhance the bowling quality, unlike last season where they had a lot of pace options but neither was good enough to have an impact.

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#2 Chennai Super Kings (purse remaining: ₹20.45 crore)

Using most of their budget on Curran and grabbing a few young backup options from the domestic circuit seems like a very CSK thing to do in the auction. They have this luxury as well because, unlike many other teams, their first XI is all but settled. They just need a pace-bowling all-rounder with an overseas spot left.

CSK likes to keep players who've played for them before. Love works both ways as well and the fact that he knows the environment and even won the 2021 IPL with them might appeal to Curran more than other teams.

That season was important in his journey as a T20 player as well. With nine wickets from as many matches and a batting strike rate of 193.10 to follow, 13 wickets and 186 runs in the previous season for the same team is a brilliant record. He was so good that CSK fans already saw him as DJ Bravo's replacement.

He missed the 2022 season due to injury and CSK struggled to replace him. They had the least wickets (22) and the second-worst economy rate (11.40) in death overs, which contributed massively to their ninth-placed finish in the table.

They have now released three pace-bowling options in Bravo, Chris Jordan and Adam Milne so desperately need at least one level-raiser in the bowling department. Dwaine Pretorius is good, but CSK would like him to be better as a backup.

Homecoming at the slow and turning Chepauk track, which will suit his bowling style, won't be a surprise.

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#3 SunRisers Hyderabad (purse remaining: ₹42.25 crore)

SRH are in the strongest position to sign Curran, who will likely be among the most expensive players in the auction, and there's no reason why they shouldn't go for him. Their death-over economy rate of 11.48 was the worst last season despite them picking up a decent 28 wickets in that phase. Curran can help change that.

They've retained Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, Marco Jansen, and T Natarajan in the bowling line-up. Although it looks like they've covered all bases, none except Natarajan is a death-overs bowler. Kumar is on the decline and Jansen and Malik operate best in the powerplay and middle overs, respectively.

Adding Curran to the line-up will solve the issues of their team balance and will also be a statement signing as they try to shed the disappointments and controversies of the past few seasons.

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