IPL 2023 Auction: Curran, Stokes, Green to attract windfall bids in mini-auction with maximum returns

Intense bidding is expected to be the order of the day when ten teams jostle to grab their preferred players from a limited pool of cricketers, including Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Mayank Agarwal, in the mini IPL auction in Kochi on Friday. The player pool for the auction has been pruned to 405, with a maximum of 87 slots. It also includes 30 overseas spaces to be filled by the teams. Former South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris has been the biggest beneficiary of the mini-Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. In 2021, he became the most expensive player in auction history when former champion Rajasthan Royals (RR) shelled out ₹16.25 crore for his services.

Morris is now happily retired. All-rounder Curran, named the Player of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup, is expected to attract intense bidding and end up with a million-dollar deal. He is only 24, and teams will consider him a long-term investment. In 2019, Punjab Kings (PBKS) made him an IPL millionaire before he moved to former four-time champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which would be looking to repurchase him.

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Curran, who missed the 2022 season while recovering from a back injury, has set his base price at ₹2 crore. The all-rounders have been listed in the second set to come up for bidding. The auction venue is not the usual Bengaluru, as Kochi gets to host the keenly followed event.

Curran's English teammates, including Test skipper Stokes and Harry Brook, will likely land fat pay cheques. Stokes is a game superstar and delivers in the toughest of situations. At the same time, Brook made a name for himself in the Test format with three centuries against Pakistan after already proving his worth in the shorter formats.

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Stokes has set his base price at ₹2 crore and Brook at ₹1.5 crore. Australian all-rounder Cameron Green will also be watching the proceedings keenly. He has not looked back in the shortest format after getting the opportunity to open for Australia in India earlier this year. Many were surprised that he was not initially picked in the T20WC squad, but he was drafted after Josh Inglis got injured.

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson will be another big name with a base price of ₹2 crore. Former champion Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) released him alongside West Indian Nicholas Pooran. Williamson's strike rate in the Twenty20s (T20s) has been questioned, but he remains a perfect leadership choice if a franchise is looking for captaincy material.

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Pooran, who quit Windies captaincy after an early exit from the T20WC, has not been in the best of forms of late but is expected to secure a decent deal. Former England Test skipper Joe Root has also thrown his hat into the ring. Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who has been among the top T20 players over the past 12 months, can also attract a heavy bid.

Agarwal sought after among Indians
Out of favour, India Test opener Agarwal will go under the hammer in Set 1 comprising batters. He has kept his base price at ₹1 crore, and teams are likely to go after him. Punjab had released him earlier this year and appointed veteran opener Shikhar Dhawan the captain instead.

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A suitable IPL is crucial for Agarwal as he aims to get back into the Indian fold. Veterans Ishant Sharma and Jaydev Unadkat are Indian pace bowling options available to the teams. If Ishant doesn't get a deal, he might not carry on playing for Delhi in domestic cricket. The uncapped Indians who could break the bank include pacers Shivam Mavi and Yash Thakur. Having been released by CSK, Tamil Nadu batter N Jagadeesan should be in demand after smashing a record five straight centuries in List-A cricket.

(With inputs from PTI)