After three seasons, the IPL will return to the home and away format in the IPL 2023. The 16th edition of the IPL is expected to commence in the last week of March next year.
The IPL 2023 auction is slated for mid-December, and before that, the trading window will be open for franchises to trade players in and out.
The IPL 2023 is also expected to be the swansong of a few legendary cricketers. A number of prominent names in world cricket could be seen playing for the last time in the IPL next year.
Here are 5 cricketers who could retire from IPL after IPL 2023:
MS Dhoni
The IPL 2023 is all but certain to be the last season for Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni, who is 41 of age now and will be 42 next July. At the end of this year’s season, Dhoni had said that the key reason for him playing next year is to play in front of the Chennai crowd at Chepauk for one last time. Since he will get the chance to play in Chennai next year, the IPL 2023 would be his last season.
Dhoni has led CSK to four titles. The franchise finished 9th earlier this year but could bounce back strongly next year given there will have the spin-friendly Chepauk surface to exploit.
Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma went unsold in the IPL 2022 mega-auction. The lanky India pacer was released by Delhi Capitals, with whom he’d been from 2019 to 2021, and didn’t find any buyers at the auction table.
Sharma, 34, has had his struggles with injury and form in the past year, and earlier this year, was even dropped from India’s Test team, the selectors signalling the transition in the pace attack. In 93 IPL matches, Ishant has taken 72 wickets.
He might put his name once again in the auction, but is again likely to go unsold, which may force him to retire from the IPL.
Wriddhiman Saha
Wriddhiman Saha was also dropped from India’s Test side as the selectors looked toward youngsters Rishabh Pant and KS Bharat. Saha, however, had a good IPL 2022 season with Gujarat Titans.
Opening the innings for Gujarat, Saha scored 317 runs at 31 and raised up three half-centuries, helping the Titans win their maiden IPL trophy. Saha will be 38 by the end of October, and given his age and fitness struggles over the years, Saha might call his time in the IPL, or all cricket, after IPL 2023.
Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo is the leading wicket-taker in the IPL history with 183 wickets to his name in the competition. A multiple-time IPL champion with CSK, Bravo is known to be one of the finest death bowlers in the world.
Bravo, who retired from international cricket last year, turned 39 recently. The IPL 2023 might also be the last IPL season of the legendary all-rounder.
Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu had already made up his mind of retiring from the IPL during the season earlier this year. He had even tweeted “I am happy to announce that this will be my last ipl. I have had a wonderful time playing it and being a part of 2 great teams for 13 years. Would love to sincerely thank Mumbai Indians and Csk for the wonderful journey.”
However, Rayudu deleted his tweet soon. This created quite a controversy with reports saying that the CSK owners were unhappy with Rayudu announcing his retirement on Twitter during the season.
37-year-old Ambati Rayudu has featured in 188 IPL games combined for Mumbai and Chennai winning multiple titles. He is likely to retire from the IPL after next season.