IPL 2023: 5 overseas players teams will definitely want to buy
A total of 991 players have registered for IPL 2023 auctions to be held on December 23, 2022 in Kochi. Out of these 991, 277 are overseas players. Ahead of the auctions, the franchises also let go some of the big names who were being paid huge amount of money. For example, Sunrisers Hyderabad released Kane Williamson and Nicholas Pooran and Chennai Super Kings did not retain Dwayne Bravo. Williamson was paid Rs 14 crore while Pooran was signed for Rs 10.75 crore.
Bravo, who had been with the CSK franchise for over a decade, got Rs 4.4 crore. The 39-year-old allrounder will also not be part of the IPL 2023.
The teams released the big names in order to have money in their purse with which they can rope in some more players. Also, in addition to the money left over from their previous auction, each team will get additional Rs 5 crore to spend each year..
Here are five overseas players every franchise would like to have in their squad:
1. Cameron Green: The Australian batting allrounder will be a big name at the auctions because he has a good track record in T20 cricket. The 23-year-old made his T20I debut against Pakistan in April 2022. There are reports that Delhi Capital's coach Ricky Ponting has his eyes set on Green.
- During Day 1 of the Perth Test between West Indies and Australia on Wednesday (November 30), the DC coach hinted about Green saying he has kept a fair bit of money at the Delhi Capitals this year.
- Earlier this year, Green turned out to be a star player from the Australian side as he scored two fifties in three games including a half-century that came of his bat in just 19 balls. Green's base price in IPL auction is Rs 2 crore.
2. Sam Curran: The 24-year-old allrounder had a fantastic run in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, where he clinched 13 wickets and had an economy of 6.52. He was named as ICC Player of the Tournament for his brilliant performance.
- Curran's best figures came in the final match against Pakistan where he got 3 wickets in his spell conceding just 12 runs. It was a match-winning spell and Curran was the star of the game. In fact, he was the best bowler of England in T20 World Cup.
- Though Curran opted out of IPL 2022 due to an injury, he has played from CSK for two seasons: 2020 and 2021. Overall, he has played 32 matches in the IPL (23 for CSK) taking 32 wickets and scored 337 runs at a strike-rate of 150. Curran, whose base price is Rs 2 crore, will be a key player at the IPL 2023 auctions.
3. Ben Stokes: The 31-year-old allrounder who had been out of IPL for the last two years will be up for bidding this year. He is a World Cup winner for the England team as his 52 run knock against Pakistan in the final of T20 World Cup helped the team chase the 138-run target easily. Stokes was also a key player during the finals of the 50-over World Cup in 2019.
- In IPL, he was one of the highest paid players from Rajasthan Royals. But injuries have kept him out of the IPL tournament for last two years. He is a destructive batter as well as a good pacer and that's what makes so much in demand.
- In IPL, he has played 43 matches scoring 920 runs at a strike-rate of 134.50 and has scalped 28 wickets at an average of 34.78.
4. Kane Williamson: The New Zealand captain had been with Sunrisers Hyderabad since 2018 and he was the highest paid player in the team at Rs 14 crore. However, the team released the captain to have more money in their purse.
Williamson, however, is an amazing captain material and the franchises can go for him. He has played 76 IPL games scoring 126.03 runs at an average of 36.22. Hyderabad also has the highest purse at Rs 42.25 crore and they can also go for Williamson for a lesser price.
5. Rilee Rossouw: The South-African left-handed batter is the next big thing in T20 cricket. Rossouw has featured in 269 T20 games and has scored 6,874 runs at a strike-rate of 143.44
The southpaw made a comeback to the South African side earlier this year and has played 11 T20Is since then scoring a massive 372 runs at a strike-rate of 176.30. Rossouw is a good hitter of the ball and he can change the course of the match in no time. It won't be a big surprise if franchises trade hard to rope him in their teams.