The IPL 2023 auction, conducted on December 23 in Kochi, was a big hit for the BCCI and a number of players too. Sam Curran (INR 18.5 cr by PBKS) and Cameron Green (INR 17.5 cr by MI) became the two most expensive players in the history of the IPL.
Two other England players – Ben Stokes (16.25 by CSK) and Harry Brook (13.25 by RR) – too bagged over million dollars, and so did West Indies’ Nicholas Pooran (16 cr by LSG). Among Indians, senior batsman Mayank Agarwal (8.25 cr by SRH) and young pacer Shivam Mavi (6 cr by GT) were the top picks at the IPL 2023 auction.
Often fans wonder how many crores would the Pakistani players get. The Pakistan team have been doing well in the shortest format: they reached the semi-final and the final of the last two T20 World Cups, and boast of some of the best T20 players in the world.
The first season of the IPL in 2008 saw a number of Pakistani players, the likes of Sohail Tanvir and Kamran Akmal also won the IPL 2008 with RR. However, due to political and border issues between India and Pakistan, the BCCI banned Pakistani players from the IPL in 2009.
In this article, we look at 5 superstar Pakistani players who would have got handsome deals had they been allowed at the IPL 2023 auction:
Shaheen Afridi
If the likes of Deepak Chahar and Pat Cummins could get over 13 crore in the IPL auctions, one can only wonder how much would Shaheen Afridi – perhaps the best new ball bowler in the world, and someone who can bowl pacy yorkers, not to forget his left-arm angle and deadly swing bowling – would go for! Indian fans would surely remember his lethal opening spell in the T20 WC in Dubai.
IPL franchises would be willing to break the bank – as they regularly do for some of the overseas players in the auction – for Shaheen Afridi if he was allowed to play in the IPL.
The 22-year-old Shaheen has already featured in 126 T20, picking up 176 wickets so far.
Shadab Khan
Shadab Khan would perhaps be the most or second-most expensive Pakistani player in an IPL auction because of his all-round skillset and match-winning pedigree. Shadab was Pakistan’s main man in the recent T20 WC 2022 in Australia – he picked up 11 wickets (most for Pakistan) at an economy of 6.34, and with the bat scored 98 runs at a strike rate of 168, including a blistering half-century in a must-win match vs South Africa.
Apart from being a wily leg-spinner, Shadab can also bat-and hit- decently. Also, Shadab is someone who doesn’t need spin helpful pitches to thrive, as proven in the T20 WC and the ongoing BBL in Australia. The 24-year-old has an experience of over 200 T20 matches already.
Mohammad Rizwan
Rizwan’s T20 career has changed since he was promoted to open a couple of years ago: He has scored most T20I runs in the world since the start of 2021.
In this period, he has amassed 2322 runs at an average of 58, notching up 22 fifties and a century in 51 innings. Yes, there has been an issue about his strike rate – 129 in this period – but Rizwan follows the ploy of setting himself in first and then exploding in the latter half of the innings.
Franchises such as PBKS, DC which are full of explosive power hitters would splurge big money to have an anchor batter like Rizwan in the IPL auction.
Haris Rauf
Haris Rauf first made his name in the BBL, taking the tournament by storm with his pace, bounce, and accuracy And then had the same impact at the international arena.
Rauf has so far picked 72 wickets in 57 T20Is for Pakistan, and 188 wickets in 141 T20 matches. The 29-year-old from Rawalpindi is one of the fastest bowlers in the world, and is a reliable speedster in the death overs. Rauf hits the deck hard and is a handful for the batters on surfaces that offer extra bounce.
Rauf would have been a really expensive buy had the Pakistanis been allowed to play in the IPL.
Naseem Shah
Pakistan have deep, enviable fast bowling stocks. 19-year-old tearaway pacer Naseem Shah is the new shiny toy in the Pakistan’s fast bowling arsenal. Naseem has 86 wickets in 61 T20 matches, and even led Pakistan’s bowling attack in the absence of Afridi in the Asia Cup.
Naseem is menacing with the new ball as he generates lateral movement in the air and off the pitch; with the old ball, he has slower variations to use in the death overs. There is immense potential to be untapped in Naseem, and IPL franchises would have gone gaga over the young fast bowler.
