Earlier this week, all the 10 IPL franchises announced their lists of released and retained players. There were a few shocking omissions as well as a few surprising retentions. However, the franchises must have had their reasons and justifications for their decisions.
Coming to the released players, most of them are likely to enter themselves in the IPL 2023 mini-auction which is slated for December 23 in Kochi.
While some of the players were released due to form or age or their higher price tag from the last season, you can expect them to bag handsome amounts at the mini-auction table.
Here are 5 released players who can earn more than 5 crore in the IPL 2023 mini-auction:
Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Agarwal had been retained by Punjab Kings for 12 crore and was named their captain. However, it felt that Agarwal was being bogged down by the captaincy pressure and expectation which also affected his batting: Agarwal scored only 196 runs at an average of 16 and strike rate of 122 with just one half-century and even dropped himself in the batting order.
He’s now released by Punjab and will be available at the auction where franchises could bid hard for Agarwal, given his immense experience and his class as an opener. One bad season with the bat for Agarwal won’t dip his stock much in the auction and he could bag a lucrative deal once again.
Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson is the other captain from last season who was released. His disappointing form in IPL 2022 with the bat – average of 19 and strike rate of 93 – plus his 14 crore retention price was too much for SRH to retain him again.
However, SRH can themselves buy Williamson back for a lower price in the auction, where, however, a few other teams might also show interest in the New Zealand skipper and raise his price to over 5 crore.
Jason Holder
An experienced seam-bowling all-rounder who can do the lower-order hitting work – it is still a bit of a surprise that Lucknow Super Giants released their 8.75 crore buy Jason Holder, though others franchises would be happy to see Holder in the auction.
Holder picked 14 wickets last season with the ball, and though he couldn’t do much with the bat, it felt as Lucknow used him too low in the batting order for a batsman of his quality. The former West Indies skipper can expect himself to bag another bumper IPL auction this time.
Nicholas Pooran
It is quite another stunning fact that the West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran was not retained by SRH; in fact, the left-hander had a good IPL 2022: 306 runs at a strike rate of 144. However, it seems that Pooran’s price of 10.75 crore from the last auction might have dictated SRH’s decision.
Nonetheless, 27-year-old Pooran remains one of the most destructive T20 batter in the world and franchises would be lining up to acquire his services at the IPL 2023 mini-auction. So expect Pooran to attract bids of around 7-8 crore in the auction.
Daniel Sams
Another seam-bowling all-rounder whose releasing was met with raised eyebrows is Daniel Sams, who Mumbai Indians had bought in the last mega-auction and Sams did reasonably well: 13 wickets in 11 matches.
The left-arm lanky seamer can swing the new ball well and is also competent and smart in using his variations in the death overs, as he showed when successfully defending 9 runs in the last over against Gujarat Titans’ Rashid Khan and David Miller. Sams’ hard-hitting prowess is well-known and showcased during the last two BBL seasons.
There won’t be many young seam-bowling all-rounders in the IPL 2023 mini-auction, so Daniel Sams could fetch high bids of more than 5 crore.
