Only a few days remain before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction. Kochi’s mini auction is on December 23.
The T20 league announced a few days ago that 10 franchises have shortlisted 405 cricketers for auction. The list has 273 Indian cricketers and 132 abroad players, four from associate nations.
119 players are capped, 282 are uncapped, and four are associate-nation cricketers. The official IPL statement said the 2023 auction can fill 87 places, with 30 for overseas players.
Some of the 273 Indian cricketers shortlisted for the IPL 2023 auction will be popular. This feature predicts the three priciest Indian mini-auction purchases.
- Mayank Agarwal
KL Rahul left for Lucknow Super Giants; hence Mayank Agarwal became Punjab Kings captain (LSG). The 31-year-willow old’s season was unremarkable. In 13 matches, he scored 196 runs at 16.33 and 122.50.
Agarwal’s batting attempts yielded only one half-century. After labouring at the top, he devoted himself to the middle.
The right-handed hitter has struggled for Karnataka this domestic season. He’s played some fantastic knocks in the IPL, though. In 2020, he scored 424 runs at a 156.45 strike rate and 441 runs at 140.44.
Agarwal bid 1 crore. He could be the most expensive Indian player at the IPL 2023 auction.
- N Jagadeesan
N Jagadeesan played for CSK in IPL 2022. Two games, 40 runs, 108.11 strike rate. The 26-year-old was released by CSK before the IPL 2023 auction.
In light of his domestic form, CSK and other franchises may be interested in signing him for the 2017 IPL season. Jagadeesan scored 830 runs in six matches during the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022-23.
He broke records against Arunachal Pradesh. The hot hitter hit five straight List-A tonnes. He scored 277 off 141 balls with 25 fours and 15 sixes to set a new List-A record.
The keeper-batsman has continued his good form in Ranji Trophy 2022-23. In the high-scoring tie against Hyderabad, he hit 116 off 97 deliveries in the first innings and 59* off 22 balls in the second.
Uncapped Jagadeesan has offered himself for 20 lakhs, although he might earn several crores.
- Jaydev Unadka
He was recalled to the Indian Test team for the first time since 2010. The 31-year-old has worked hard in domestic cricket and earned his return.
At the 2022 IPL auction, Mumbai Indians (MI) bought him for 1.3 crore.
The seamer played five matches, taking six wickets at 31.67 and 9.50. Unadkat played for Rajasthan Royals in 2018-2020. While he took wickets, his economy rate of 10 pushed the franchise to search elsewhere.
Franchises may be hesitant to invest too much on Unadkat, but his recent performances have been impressive. He took 19 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 16.10 in Saurashtra’s title-winning campaign.
The cricketer has worked hard on his hitting and is now a solid lower-order hitter. Seven first-class fifties, one List-A and one T20. Unadkat’s starting bid is 50 lakhs.
Despite his IPL failures, franchises may give him another chance given his recent form.
