December 2022 was an exciting month for the fans: the Pakistan Super League and Indian Premier League of 2023 were built up with their drafts and auction, respectively. The PSL draft took place on December 15 and a week later, on December 23, the IPL 2023 mini-auction was held.
There were some players who will play in both PSL 2023 – which is played in the January-February window – and IPL 2023 – which is played in the April-May window.
Interestingly, there were a few players who were not picked in the PSL drafts but got bids and were bought at the IPL 2023 auction.
Here are 3 such foreign players who were picked at the IPL 2023 auction but didn’t find a team in the PSL 2023 draft:
Reece Topley
England pacer Reece Topley got his maiden IPL gig after he was snapped up by RCB for INR 1.9 crore, which is more than double his base price of 75 lakhs. Topley is tall and can swing the ball both ways, making up for a lethal combination of a high release point and movement in the air with the new ball.
In 131 T20 matches, Topley has picked up 168 wickets, and 22 wickets in 22 T20Is for England. Topley was part of England’s T20 World Cup squad, but got injured and ruled out on the eve of the tournament.
RCB has picked him up as a backup for the likes of Josh Hazlewood and David Willey. The PSL teams, however, showed no interest in Topley at the PSL 2023 draft.
Litton Das
Bangladesh explosive keeper-batsman Litton Das was bought by KKR for his base price of 50 lakh. While Litton recently has gained a reputation of an aggressive batsman, he is well capable of anchoring a falling side, and KKR have got him these qualities. Das has an experience of 160 T20 matches and 65 T20Is for his country.
The PSL teams, however, didn’t pick Litton Das. It might have to do something with the Bangladesh team’s schedule clashing with the PSL, and the BCB are not generous in terms of releasing their players to play in other leagues at the same time as their international matches.
Shakib Al Hasan
Veteran Bangladesh all-rounder and captain Shakib Al Hasan returns to the IPL after going unsold in the last mega-auction. The southpaw was bought at his base price of INR 1.5 crore by KKR in the IPL 2023 auction.
Shakib remains Bangladesh’s main man, and is one of the few players to have played in over 100 T20Is, and overall has featured in 383 T20 matches, including 71 in the IPL.
However, the number 1 ranked T20I all-rounder in the world, Shakib, didn’t get selected in the PSL draft, probably for the same reason that he won’t get NOC from Bangladesh to miss international matches at the same time as the PSL.
