"14 cr to 2cr is a worse fall than crypto currency" - Twitterati react as Kane Williamson is sold to GT at base price during IPL 2023 auction
New Zealand’s white-ball captain Kane Williamson was sold to Gujarat Titans (GT) for ₹2 crore in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23. The Kiwi was the first player to go under the hammer in the mini-auction.
After his name was announced, there was no immediate response with regard to bids. After a few moments of silence, defending champions Gujarat decided to enter the fray. They made their opening bid of ₹2 crore - Williamson’s base price.
With none of the other franchises showing interest in the New Zealand player, GT ended up acquiring the services of Williamson at his base price. The Kiwi legend had captained Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2022 but was released before the retention list was announced in November.
IPL fans on Twitter took to the micro-blogging site to express their thoughts after Williamson was picked up by Gujarat Titans for a budget price. Many pointed to his fall in price from ₹14 crore in IPL 2022 to ₹2 crore for IPL 2023.
Here are some Twitter reactions to the first player being sold at the IPL 2023 auction:
Williamson finds a new home with Gujarat Titans. The team of great second chances - Can bay at three, Hardik can go four - Don’t have to play Wade as a specialist. #IPL2023Auction
Kane Williamson salary in the IPL:
2022 - 16cr.
2023 - 2cr.
Might as well have kept Gurbaz at 50 lakhs when you wanted to get Williamson for 2 Cr.
Gujarat Titans take their No. 3 with the inclusion of Kane Williamson. The stabilizer.
IPL brought down Kane Williamson's value from 15 cr to 2 cr https://t.co/GByK5wdfPQ
Quite a strange start. Titans getting Williamson. He can open or bat at 3 but it is a real surprise this! #IPL2023Auction
Williamson to @gujarat_titans for 2 crore and during the Ind-NZ series, Hardik Pandya was asked whether his team would bid for Williamson after SRH let him go. Heh #IPL2023Auction
Kane Williamson in Gujarat Titans just for 2cr. Steal deal Ashish Nehra Masterclass.
@hardikpandya7 and Kane Combo Gonna Work Well
Kane Williamson To @gujarat_titans 😈 @hardikpandya7 and Kane Combo Gonna Work Well😎🔥
Kane Williamson in Gujarat titans just with his salary of 2 crores.
#IPL2023Auction https://t.co/BxUgevzmf3
Kane Williamson from 14 cr to 2cr this is a worse fall than crypto currency.
Kane Williamson goes for base price to defending champions Gujarat Titans. Bit of a surprise because I expected him to go only in the accelerated auction, and teams to save their budget for the big guns.
Although GT could have thought KW at 2 crore is a good bargain. #IPLAuction
Rashid Khan and Kane Williamson reuniting in Gujarat Titans, I hope! https://t.co/HWKU8eYdBi
Kane Williamson salary in the IPL:
2022 - 16cr.
2023 - 2cr.
#IPLAuction https://t.co/h15ap8bC6R
Kane Williamson in GT I'm sure Ashish Nehra will utilize Kane best of the best. https://t.co/WxuIHgmOuM
Kane Williamson had disappointing IPL 2022 season with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Williamson captained SRH during the IPL 2022 season. However, he failed to impress with the bat and was subsequently released. The 32-year-old right-handed batter played 13 gamesfor the Hyderabad franchise but only scored 216 runs at an average of 19.64 and a poor strike rate of 93.51. He managed only one half-century in the entire edition, with a best of 57.
The New Zealander was retained as captain for the 2022 season after he took over from David Warner towards the end of IPL 2021. The Aussie had parted ways with SRH after a long association ahead of IPL 2022.
Williamson, though, failed to inspire as a leader. Under him, Hyderabad again failed to qualify for the playoffs. They finished eighth in the ten-team competition, winning six and losing eight games.
Gujarat Titans squad ahead of IPL 2023 auction
Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudarshan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, R Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Noor Ahmad, Darshan Nalkande, Pradeep Sangwan.