IPL Auction 2023: The TATA IPL 2022 was certainly one of the best seasons of the tournament that has ever happened. With two new teams added to the competition, making it bigger and grander. Both the Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants made the competition more tough. The addition of the two teams led to the re-auction or mega auction of the players, which resulted in a reshuffling of the pack for all the franchises.
As a result, we saw the teams that dominated the tournament fail miserably. The likes of the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings, who have won nine titles between them, ended the season in the bottom two of the points table. On the other hand, both new franchises did an amazing job in their maiden competition. LSG ended in the top four, while Gujarat went on to lift the trophy in the end.
And after that action-packed season, it’s time for all teams to gear up for the next season in 2023. Thus, the IPL governing authority has given all teams a chance to rearrange their sides and pick the best possible players for their teams. As a result, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has arranged a mini auction ahead of the upcoming season.
IPL Auction 2023: MI and KKR brought in big names in Pace Bowling Departments
To make the next season more interesting and entertaining, the BCCI has scheduled a mini auction in December. It will be a one-day affair in Kochi on December 23. All the teams have a chance to rethink their plans and make the essential changes they want for the upcoming season. With that, the BCCI has set the deadline for the last date to submit the list of retained and released players. A team can retain a maximum of 15 players, while the remaining players must be released.
As in the last season, a team can have a maximum of 25 players. However, a team can have a minimum of 18 players in their squad. MI and CSK have already submitted the lists of retained and released players, which has made the auction more exciting. MI has released Keiron Pollard, while CSK has released Dwayne Bravo, which are the two IPL legends.
Mumbai Indians, who ended the last season with only four wins in the entire tournament because of their less experienced bowling lineup, have decided to strengthen their pace bowling. MI had traded the Australian pacer Jason Behrendroff from Royal Challengers Bangalore to their team for a price of INR 75 lakhs. RCB signed the pacer in the last season. However, Behrendroff has already played for MI in 2019 and CSK in 2021.
KKR has traded two big names from Gujarat Titans
The two-time champions, the Kolkata Knight Riders, who didn’t qualify for the playoffs, have decided to work it out this time around. They have made a smart move by bringing the fastest IPL pacer, Lockie Ferguson, back to their side from the Gujarat Titans. Ferguson was part of the GT title triumph in 2021, taking 13 wickets in 12 games. He has previously played for KKR, and now he is back with the team. Overall, he has played 35 games and has 36 wickets to his name
On the other hand, KKR has also picked up Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz in a trade with the Gujarat Titans. He will be seen opening the inning for KKR. Notably, Gujarat signed him last season as a replacement for injured English opener Jason Roy. But Gurbaz didn’t get a chance to make his debut in the 2022 season.