IPL Auction 2023: 3 players teams could regret retaining
There's not long to go for the 2023 IPL auction, which is set to take place in Kochi on Friday, December 23. All the franchises, players, and of course, the fans, are awaiting an exciting event that could have a significant say on how IPL 2023 pans out.
The teams announced the players they released and retained from their squad, and while most decisions were justified, there were a few surprising releases and retentions.
The teams made their decision keeping in mind their purse heading into the auction and the overseas player quota. The player trades that took place between sides also adds intrigue to the auction, with Shardul Thakur, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Lockie Ferguson heading into KKR.
On that note, let's look at three players who teams could regret retaining.
#3 Anuj Rawat (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
RCB has the second-lowest purse(₹8.75 crore) among all teams heading into the mini-auction after retaining most of their players. While many of those were justified, they could have been a little smarter by releasing Anuj Rawat. The wicket-keeping batter was purchased by RCB for ₹3.4 crore at the 2022 player auction but he couldn't grab his opportunity.
Opening the batting with Faf Du Plessis, Anuj could score only 129 runs in eight innings, averaging a paltry 16.13. While it can definitely be argued that this buy is more of an investment and that he needs more time, there are plenty of other promising young talents they could target for a much lesser price.
Also, given their purse amount, it's going to be hard to bid on any of their targets, and releasing Anuj would have given them some much-needed funds.
#2 Devdutt Padikkal (Rajasthan Royals)
Devdutt Padikkal was one of the most highly sought-after players at the previous auction. Purchased by the Rajasthan Royals for a whopping ₹7.75 crore, it was a disappointing season for Padikkal who could score only 376 runs in 17 innings, predominantly batting at No. 3.
With Yashasvi Jaiswal the preferred opening partner to Jos Buttler, Padikkal was used as a floater in the top order and usually came in to face the spinners post the powerplay, not his area of strength. With Jaiswal's batting position not flexible, Padikkal is the one who has to change his batting position, and that clearly doesn't seem to be working for him or the side.
₹7.75 crore is a lot of money and despite finishing runners-up, RR have some holes to plug in their unit, and having that extra cash in hand would definitely have helped at the auction.
Devdutt Padikkal is one of India's brightest talents and I won't be surprised if he does make that No. 3 spot his own and shine this season. However, on paper, RR would have been better off releasing him and using those funds better.
#1 Shahrukh Khan (Punjab Kings)
One of PBKS' marquee buys last season, Shah Rukh Khan couldn't match expectations, having a sub-par season by most standards. The big-hitting Tamil Nadu batter was re-signed by the Punjab Kings for a whopping ₹ 9 crore but could score only 117 runs in eight matches, averaging a mere 16.71 at a strike rate of 108.33.
While most fans and experts were expecting the Kings to release Shah Rukh ahead of the auction, the Kings have decided to retain him.
Punjab has the second-highest purse heading into the auction, only behind Sunrisers Hyderabad. Seeing that they already have a good amount of funds, one can understand why they would have wanted to retain Shah Rukh despite his hefty price tag. There aren't many Indian middle-order options who have the potential to do what Shah Rukh can.
However, his record in the IPL has been far from impressive. He hasn't looked particularly impressive in either of his two seasons in the competition.
With Jitesh Sharma looking a much stronger option for the Punjab Kings, does Shah Rukh even make it into their best playing XI? He was dropped for six of their 14 matches last season. If that continues, is that the best possible use of ₹9 crore? I don't think so.
While he's by no means a bad option, PBKS should have released him at the auction and tried to buy him back for a lesser price.