The IPL 2023 mini-auction is less than 20 days away; the event is slated for December 23 in Kochi. There are a lot of overseas talented and established cricketers available for picking at the auction. One among them is Cameron Green.
Even though the Green has featured in only 8 T20Is and 21 T20 matches, the 23-year-old is going to be a huge demand in the auction.
Green has proven that he is a proper ball bashed as an opener in T20 cricket – a couple of months ago, in the T20I series in India, he smashed 61off 30 balls in Mohali and 52 off 21 in Hyderabad to gain the eyeballs of fans and IPL franchises. Plus, he can bowl at all stages of an innings and is only 23 years old currently with immense potential to be tapped.
Expect franchises to go gung-ho after Cameron Green in the IPL auction.
Here are 3 franchises that are likely to target Cameron Green in the IPL 2023 mini-auction:
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians are known to make big money signings in the auction. Whether it was Kieron Pollard in 2010, or Ishan Kishan in 2022 – both the most expensive signings of that year’s auction – and MI had even gone after the likes of Ben Stokes in the 2017 and 2018 auctions.
So it won’t be surprising if MI goes after the young all-round sensation, Cameron Green. MI have released two overseas all-rounders – Kieron Pollard (retired from IPL) and Daniel Sams – and the fitness of another all-rounder Jofra Archer will remain uncertain as to how much his body will be able to take returning to cricket after almost two years.
MI have a purse of 20 crore for the auction, and they have their batting already sorted out, so they won’t mind spending a big chunk of their purse on Cam Green to secure their future further.
Punjab Kings
You can even bet big on Punjab Kings targetting fiercely any one of the three big all-rounders – Ben Stokes, Sam Curran, or Cameron Green. Punjab have released a spate of players, including all-rounders Odean Smith and Benny Howell, and have retained only Rishi Dhawan as their pace-bowling all-rounder.
Since Punjab have a big budget of INR 32 crore, you can expect PBKS to chase and get at least one of the three aforementioned overseas all-rounders.
Lucknow Super Giants
Another franchise that would certainly be looking for an overseas pace-bowling all-rounder is LSG. Lucknow have surprisingly let go of the experienced Jason Holder despite the West Indian picking 14 wickets, but was on the expensive side and offered little with the bat. LSG would then want a proper all-rounder to replace Holder from the XI, someone who could bowl 2-3 overs and can properly slog. Cameron Green fits the bill.
