While the likes of MS Dhoni, Chris Gayle, Imran Tahir, and Dwayne Bravo have performed well in the IPL at an older age, closer to 40, most of the other cricketers have found it difficult to remain at their best in the most competitive T20 league in the world when they reach the age of retirement.
Either they get benched, or even don’t find any buyers. It will be the same case in the upcoming IPL 2023 auction where a few players who have dominated international cricket or the IPL in the past might not get sold.
Earlier in the week, the BCCI confirmed that a total of 405 players will go under the hammer on December 23 in Kochi in the IPL 2023 mini-auction, out of which 273 are Indians and 132 are overseas players. After the release 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.
Here are the 3 oldest players in the IPL 2023 auction:
Amit Mishra
Veteran Indian spinner Amit Mishra will be the oldest player in the IPL 2023 auction. Mishra has taken 166 IPL wickets between 2008 and 2021 – fourth leading wicket-taker in the competition’s history – but 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, in 2020 and 2021, picking up 9 wickets, but DC turned toward younger spinners as Mishra aged.
Mohammad Nabi
Former Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi has been a globetrotter, playing T20 format around the world and also inspiration generations of Afghanistani players. However, Nabi hasn’t played much in the IPL: he’s featured in only 17 IPL matches from 2017 to 2022. This is because the two teams he’s been part of – SRH and KKR – already had their overseas quota of 4 players filled with other superstars, so Nabi has spent majority of time in the IPL on the bench.
Nonetheless, the 37-year-old, after being released by KKR, will be back in the IPL auction, and he might hope to get picked up based on his experience and all-round skillset.
David Wiese
South African all-rounder David Wiese played for RCB in 2015 and 2016. He did well then in 15 matches for RCB: 16 wickets with the ball, plus scored 127 runs at a strike rate of 147 with the bat. However, after that Wiese wasn’t bought by any franchise in the auctions.
Now, though, after looking at how he has superbly played for Namibia in the last two T20 World Cups, helping them not only qualify for the intial round, but also taking Namibia to the Super 12, Wiese might hope for a comeback to the IPL at the age of 37.
