The BCCI has pruned down the list of players to be auctioned at the IPL 2023 mini-auction to 405 from the 991 that had registered themselves. The auction for the 16th season of the IPL will be held in Kochi on December 23.
Out of the 405 players set to be auctioned, 273 are Indian players and 132 are overseas including four from the associate nations. The total number of capped players is 119, uncapped players are 282. After the releasing of the players by the 10 franchises, a maximum of 87 players, with up to 30 overseas, can be bought at the IPL 2023 auction.
It is quite a telling fact that there is no Indian in the 19 players who have set their base price in the highest INR 2 crore category and even in the 1.5 crore bracket.
Having said that, here are 3 senior Indian cricketers who are likely to go unsold in the IPL 2023 mini-auction:
Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma is currently the most experienced Indian fast bowler among active international players. However, the lanky seamer was dropped from the Test side earlier this year, and had also gone unsold in the IPL 2022 mega-auction. It is very much likely that Sharma, 34, won’t find any buyer this time too, despite setting his base price to as low as INR 50 lakh.
Ishant made his IPL debut in 2008, and last played in the tournament in 2021. He’s played for Delhi Capitals, Deccan Chargers, Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Rising Pune Supergiant.
Overall, Ishant Sharma has picked up 72 wickets in 93 IPL games, but he hadn’t been a regular feature in the past few years; he’s played in only 4 IPL games in the 2020 and 2021 seasons picking up just one wicket. Franchises feel Sharma doesn’t have any gas left for the T20 format, and also there have been his regular fitness issues.
Amit Mishra
Amit Mishra will the oldest Indian player in the IPL 2023 auction. Mishra, who snapped 166 IPL wickets between 2008 and 2021, had gone unsold in the IPL 2022 mega-auction after being released by the Delhi Capitals.
The 40-year-old has been playing for Haryana in domestic cricket this season and did well, but is unlikely to be bought by any franchise in the IPL 2023 auction. He featured in just 7 matches in his last two IPL seasons, picking up 9 wickets, but DC turned toward younger spinners as Mishra aged.
He might go unsold again, having set his base price at INR 50 lakh, however, some franchises might ask him to be part of their coaching setup going forward.
Piyush Chawla
Another veteran IPL leg-spinner Piyush Chawla is expected to have no bidders in the IPL 2023 auction. The 2014 IPL winner with KKR, Chawla was unsold in the IPL 2022 mega-auction and a similar fate for the 33-year-old could be on the cards in the IPL 2023 auction.
Chawla has featured for Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Punjab Kings, and Kolkata Knight Riders from 2008 to 2021, picking up a total of 157 wickets.
