IPL 2023 auction ended yesterday in Kochi. The event included bidding wars and enviable bargains for several participants.
80 of the 405 players registered to go under the hammer were sold, including 29 overseas players. Franchises bid 167 crore during auction.
All-rounders got big salary, as predicted. Sam Curran was bought by Punjab Kings for 18.50 crore, making him the most expensive player in IPL history.
Australian batting all-rounder Cameron Green was sold to the Mumbai Indians (MI) for 17.50 crore, and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) paid 16.25 crore on Ben Stokes.
How do IPL franchises bowl after the auction?
While T20 is a batters game, bowlers can’t be left out. This is shown by how much some bowlers sold for at the IPL 2023 auction.
Here are the top 10 bowling attacks for IPL 2023.
Rajasthan Royals (8/10)
Rajasthan Royals (RR) kept their bowling core for IPL 2022. In 2017, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Yuzvendra Chahal established an outstanding quartet. They’re expected to do it again, with Obed McCoy and Kuldeep Sen helping.
RR bought West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder. He can bowl death overs and take wickets. Adam Zampa hasn’t lit up the IPL, but he could next year.
RBC (8/10)
RCB has a solid bowling assault. Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood will open, Wanindu Hasaranga will do the middle overs, and Shahbaz Ahmed will bowl left-arm spin.
Harshal Patel is the death bowler. Reece Topley provides RCB another left-arm seam option for IPL 2023.
Akash Deep and Glenn Maxwell both did well in 2022.
Gujarat Titans (7.5)
Gujarat Titans (GT) will likely keep their bowling assault from IPL 2022. Their bowling seems varied.
Mohammed Shami is injured and his efficacy will be assessed. Alzarri Joseph and Yash Dayal were good backup pacers last year.
Hardik Pandya is likely to deliver again, but his bowling is uncertain. Joshua Little’s addition has improved the bowling.
Rashid Khan is anticipated to get up wickets and keep things tight.
Chennai Super Kings (7/10)
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is diverse. Ben Stokes joins Ravindra Jadeja as great all-rounders who can win games with the bat and ball.
Kyle Jamieson was also purchased at the IPL 2023 auction. Mitchell Santner can bowl frugal overs if Dwaine Pretorius falters. Maheesh Theekshana will lead spin again.
CSK lacks a fast bowler who can open alongside Deepak Chahar.
In Chahar’s absence, CSK attempted Mukesh Chowdhary. He’s done well, but he’s still raw on stage.
Kolkata Knight Riders (7/10)
Spin to win might be KKR’s philosophy in IPL 2023. Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy can bowl at any point and give eight quality overs. Shakib Al Hasan’s left-arm spin also helps him.
Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee did well as 2022 openers. Lockie Ferguson and Shardul Thakur were swapped from Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals. They lack consistency but can win games.
Andre Russell performs death-overs. David Wiese is a smart pick. He’s a good T20 player.
Delhi Capitals (7/10)
Delhi Capitals (DC) missed the IPL 2022 playoffs. They have a good bowling assault and hope to perform better next time. Anrich Nortje will lead DC’s pace assault, but he’s pricey.
Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, and Khaleel Ahmed can all bowl fast. Mukesh Kumar’s inclusion could be useful, while Ishant Sharma’s 50 lakh buy has attracted mixed views.
Kuldeep Yadav will provide spin while Axar Patel will keep things tight.
Mumbai Indians (6.5)
Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer are MI’s most devastating opening pair. Both had fitness and injury difficulties over the last year. We’ll see how effective they are.
Left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya made an impact for MI in IPL 2022. The 25-year-old is hopeful. Jhye Richardson and Jason Behrendorff can win if they play well.
Cameron Green joins. He was purchased for 17.50 crore at the IPL 2023 auction. Picking Piyush Chawla for 50 lakh is dubious.
SunRisers Hyderabad (6/10)
Umran Malik was SRH’s top player in IPL 2022. He has more ambitions after playing international cricket.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan are still in the team, but their effectiveness is uncertain.
SRH has Marco Jansen, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Kartik Tyagi. SunRisers’ choices are lacking, though.
Washington Sundar is a talented spin bowler. Adil Rashid can bowl leg spin, and Akeal Hosein can bowl left-arm spin.
Lucknow Super Giants (5.5)
LSG’s bowling department isn’t as strong as other IPL teams’. Mohsin Khan and Avesh Khan fared well with the ball in IPL 2022.
Mark Wood can be terrific if fit. Daniel Sams, Jaydev Unadkat, and Marcus Stoinis fluctuate. Naveen-ul-Haq is talented but wild.
Ravi Bishnoi will again handle spin. Krunal Pandya can bowl tightly but not wickets. LSG have faith in Amit Mishra. The gamble’s success is unknown.
Punjab Kings (5.5/10)
Punjab Kings has a formidable fast-bowling combo for IPL 2023. Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh were T20 World Cup 2022 heroes.
Kagiso Rabada is a proven performer. The bowling lacks depth.
Nathan Ellis and Rishi Dhawan both bowl fast. They’re also spinny.
Rahul Chahar is inconsistent, and Harpreet Brar has few games. Sikandar Raza’s off-spin can improve PBKS.
