A total of 80 players were sold, out of 87 available slots to be filled, at the IPL 2023 auction. Sam Curran became the most-expensive ever signing in the history of the IPL, with Punjab Kings bagging the England all-rounder for 18.5 crore.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings too roped in a star all-rounder each: MI broke the bank for young Australian all-rounder Cameron Green (17.5 crore) and CSK bought England Test captain Ben Stokes for 16.25 crore.
There are and will be a few changes in leadership from IPL 2022 to the IPL 2023.
Here are 3 teams that will/can have new captains in IPL 2023:
Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings have already announced senior opener Shikhar Dhawan as their captain for IPL 2023, taking over from the other opener, Mayank Agarwal, who led the franchise in IPL 2022.
Agarwal himself had been given the captaincy of Punjab after KL Rahul left them for the Lucknow Super Giants. Agarwal, however, couldn’t cope with the pressures of the captaincy, and not only PBKS failed to reach the playoffs, Agarwal also had a poor season with the bat in IPL 2022: 196 runs in 13 matches at an average of 16, and even pushed himself down the order to have Dhawan and Bairstow open, and he was released ahead of this season’s auction.
Sunrisers Hyderabad
Mayank Agarwal is in strong contention to be the new captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad, who had released Kane Williamson after having retained him for INR 14 crore as their captain for IPL 2022. Williamson’s poor season with the bat, and his dismal 2022 in T20 cricket, plus his big retention price meant SRH released him, and also Nicholas Pooran.
Now, SRH have a decision to make. They have bought Agarwal for 8.25 crore, and they also have retained Aiden Markam, who has led the South Africa under-19 team. Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar is another captaincy alternative in SRH’s ranks, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been SRH’s vice-captain and also captained them in a few matches, however, with his fitness uncertain, Bhuvneshwar is an unlikely candidate to lead SRH.
Chennai Super Kings
CSK splashed 16.25 crore at the IPL 2023 auction – the most they have ever spent for a player in the IPL – for Ben Stokes. Not only Stokes comes in as a crucial all-rounder and brings pedigree of performing in big matches, but Stokes is also seen by many as the best man to lead CSK after MS Dhoni.
In all the likelhood, the IPL 2023 will be MS Dhoni’s last IPL season as a player. Ahead of IPL 2022, Dhoni had handed over the captaincy to Jadeja, but had to take it back after CSK and Jadeja’s dipping show in the first half of the season.
In Stokes, Dhoni and CSK now have an able and experienced captain. So it won’t come as a surprise if MS Dhoni relinquishes his captaincy for Stokes before the start of IPL 2023.
