Less than a week remains until the IPL 2023 Auction, and clubs are working nonstop to assemble the finest roster possible for the following IPL season. While some clubs have their lineups in place and just need to make minor adjustments, other teams will be trying to drastically overhaul their squads by pursuing some of the biggest names in the auction. Many paddles are anticipated to be raised in support of these top players, including Ben Stokes, Adam Zampa, and Mayank Agarwal, who are available for grabs by teams.
The finances of each team are a significant aspect as well, with teams like Punjab Kings and SRH having a sizable amount of cash on hand. The IPL 2023 Auctions will be the first stop on the path to the IPL, which will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar on December 23, 2022. Sanjay Manjrekar, a former cricketer for India, discussed the Mumbai Indians team, how they would like to shape themselves for the upcoming season, and who they would like to pursue at this year’s auction. “You know when you look at their bowling attack, and last time around they suffered, but now they’ve got Jofra Archer, Bumrah is fit, they’ve got Jason Behrendorff, so that’s a quality attack which they’ve got, so that’s not a problem.
“Rohit Sharma also comes back into form, taking care of stuff, so they’ll be hoping that he gets going too. But leg spin, now every IPL team needs somebody like Rashid Khan. So, they are looking for their Rashid khan or a Sunil Narine. So, that’s where somebody like a Zampa or an Adil Rashid can come into the equation to find the leg spinner. So, all three aspects seem okay despite their performance last season. So, yes a wrist spinner, they have let go of M. Ashwin, they have a history of spinners, there was Markande with them, Rahul Chahar, they should never have let him go, he’s gone, so maybe an overseas spinner somebody like a Zampa or an Adil Rashid will be perfect for them.”
Irfan Pathan discussed the two clubs with the highest bids in the auction, Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad, and how they would like to bolster their rosters with top talent in this year’s auction by pursuing some of the most well-known players out there. “Definitely, both Punjab Kings as well as SRH, they’re going to show their masses at the auction because look, one thing for sure that when we don’t have a settled unit, when you don’t have a proper playing eleven which Punjab and SRH don’t have, that means they have a big bank balance and that means they need to be very smart, they need to be aggressive as well in these auctions because they have the muscle power and I think Adam Zampa, they will go after him from the word go.
“SRH will go after Mayank Agarwal because they need a kind of abrasive opener as well. They don’t have Kane Williamson right now who led them for many years as an experienced player and who used to open the innings as well. Mayank Agarwal is the kind of guy who has led a side, who plays quite freely as well, is very fearless, and very selfless. They might be thinking of him going forward as a leader as well. So let’s see what’s going to happen, but definitely they are going to look for that kind of introduction in that auction.”