Earlier in the week, 405 players were shortlisted to be auctioned at the IPL 2023 auction. This will be a mini-auction, after there had been a mega-auction last year, and it will be held on December 23 in Kochi.
Out of 405 players, 273 are Indians and 132 are overseas players of which four are from the associate nations. The total number of capped players are 119, uncapped players are 282, and four from the associate nations.
A spate of youngsters are going to be part of the IPL 2023 mini-auction who’d be hoping to get picked up and get opportunities to showcase their talent and skillset in the biggest T20 league in the world.
Amongst the youngsters, there are a few teenagers too, few very young players who have impressed at the junior level and caught the eyes of the scouts of the franchises who have demanded their inclusion in the auction pool.
Here are the 5 youngest players in the IPL 2023 auction:
Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar – 15 years 152 days
15 years! Yes – Afghanistan’s Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar is the youngest player set to be auctioned in the upcoming IPL 2023 mini-auction. He is a right-arm off-spinner.
Ghazanfar has taken 5 wickets in 3 T20 matches of the Shpageeza Cricket League in Kabul, including a best of 4/15. Some franchises might think they have found their next Rashid Khan or Mujeeb Ur Rahman in Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar and hence have shortlisted him for the auction.
Dinesh Bana – 18 years 3 days
Haryana’s Dinesh Bana had his MS Dhoni moment when he smashed 2 consecutive sixes to win India the under-19 World Cup final earlier this year, and in was in that tournament that Bana gained a reputation as a hard-hitter: he scored only 63 runs in 5 matches, but scored them at a strike rate of 190.
Since then, however, Bana hasn’t done anything impressive to note: he averaged 14 at a strike rate of 110 in 8 T20 matches. Nonetheless, franchises might want to invest in a potential finisher who has just celebrated his 18th birthday.
Sakib Hussain – 18 years 3 days
18-year-old Sakib Hussain is a right-arm medium pace who recently made his SMAT debut for Bihar, and picked up a 4-wicket haul in just his second SMAT T20 match. It has been learned that Hussain has the smarts to use deceitful variations up his sleeve and can also move the ball off the pitch. Quality Indian pacers have always been an attraction at the IPL auction; if the franchises feel – upon inputs from their scouts – that Sakib Hussain has a great future potential, then they could bid for the teenager.
Kumar Kushagra – 18 years 54 days
In the Ranji trophy earlier this year, Jharkhand’s Kumar Kushagra shattered records to become the youngest batter in first-class history to hit a 250-plus score at 17 years and 141 days. He averages 59 in 5 first-class matches, 51 in 10 List-A matches, but only 7 in 5 T20 domestic matches.
Kumar Kushagra is a wicket-keeper batsman and is likely to attract bids in the IPL 2023 auction.
Shaik Rasheed – 18 years 83 days
At little over 18 years of age, Shaik Rasheed of Andhra Pradesh is an exciting talent in the auction pool. A right-handed batsman, Rasheed made his Ranji trophy debut in February 2022 and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy debut in October. He averages 28 in 3 professional T20 games.
Shaik Rasheed was the vice-captain of the Indian under-19 team that won the under-19 World Cup earlier this year.
