The IPL 2023 auction is set to take place in mid-December. For this, the BCCI and the IPL governing council have already asked the franchises to finalize their list of retained and released players by mid-November, giving all the 10 franchises a month’s time to further plan for the mini-auction. The trading window is also open currently.
The franchises are expected to release the players who have been out of form, have aged and are not up to the level, and who they don’t feel fit in their system.
However, there are a few players who underperformed in the IPL 2022, but still are unlikely to be released from their respective franchises.
In this article, we will look at 5 players who failed in IPL 2022 but are expected to be retained ahead of the IPL 2023 auction:
Venkatesh Iyer
Venkatesh Iyer’s rise at the highest level was as spectacular and stunning as his fall. In the second half of the IPL 2021, he almost single-handedly propelled KKR from a bottom-table position to the final. On the back of impressive all-round performances in a month’s IPL time, Venkatesh got an India call-up while Hardik Pandya was out injured.
Venkatesh featured in 9 T20Is and 2 ODIs for India. And then what was a crucial IPL 2022 season for him, after he was retained for 8 crore as one of the four players ahead of Shubman Gill, the all-rounder has a poor tournament: 182 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 107, and didn’t pick a single wicket in the 4 matches he came on to bowl. With Hardik Pandya returning and his own poor form, Venkatesh was moved aside from the national setup as well.
Despite this, KKR are likely to retain Venkatesh because of what he brings to the table as an all-rounder, and the franchise and management will hope for a turnaround in his form.
Kane Williamson
Retained for 14 crore instead of Rashid Khan, Kane Williamson couldn’t vindicate SRH’s decision as not only he had a dismal season with the bat, but also SRH suffered a flurry of losses, finishing in the bottom half of the table.
Williamson, who struggled with an elbow issue, scored 216 runs in 13 innings at a disappointing average of 19 and an ever poorer strike rate of 93!
SRH will want to forget and shrug off Williamson’s performance of last season and hope that the Kiwi is back to his best by the time the IPL 2023 arrives. There is, of course, little doubt that SRH would release Williamson.
Jaydev Unadkat
Mumbai Indians suffered their worst-ever IPL season as they finished at the bottom of the table. Their main issue was a lack of potency in the bowling department; and deeper into it, they lacked an experienced and quality seamer to support Jasprit Bumrah.
One of their pacers, Jaydev Unadkat, had a below-par season as he picked 6 wickets in 5 matches, and was expensive, leaking runs at 9.5 runs per over. MI had banked on Unadkat’s experience in domestic and IPL, but he failed to deliver.
Nonetheless, with 1.3 crore price, Unadkat still seems a good bet to keep for another season. For there won’t be many left-arm experienced Indian pacers in the auction.
Ajinkya Rahane
Senior batsman Ajinkya Rahane was bought by KKR for 1 crore and was in the first-choice XI as an opener. Rahane played in 7 matches, scoring 133 runs at a mediocre average of 19 and strike rate of 103 with just one good knock, before injury ruled him out of the tournament.
KKR struggled for proper opening options and tried about half-a-dozen openers. KKR would believe that they could get another season or two from the experienced Rahane as an opener and not release him. Having an experienced Indian opener is a luxury that KKR might not want to miss out on even if they look for an attacking option in the auction.
Manish Pandey
Senior batsman Manish Pandey managed only 88 runs for Lucknow Super Giants in 6 innings at 14. Known to be a good anchor batsman, last season was very much a forgettable one.
Despite this, Pandey remains a top-quality established domestic batter with plenty of experience in international and IPL cricket behind him. For these reasons, LSG are likely to stick with Manish Pandey, albeit he may not be a starter in the first-choice line-up, but will serve as a good backup to have at their disposal.
