IPL auction set for December 23 in Kochi

The IPL player auction for the 2023 season will take place in Kochi on December 23. It will be a mini auction as opposed to the mega auction ahead of the 2022 edition, when the ten franchises had to rebuild their squads virtually from scratch.

In addition to the money left over from their previous auction purse and the value of the players they release, each team will have an additional INR 5 crore (approx. US $607,000) to spend at this auction, making the overall purse INR 95 crore (approx. US $11.5 million).

Punjab Kings had the largest purse left over – INR 3.45 crore (approx. US $425,000) – after last year’s auction, while Lucknow Super Giants had exhausted their entire purse. Chennai Super Kings had INR 2.95 crore (approx. US $358,000) remaining, followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore (INR 1.55 crore, or approx. US $188,000), Rajasthan Royals (INR 0.95 crore or approx. US $115,000) and Kolkata Knight Riders (INR 0.45 crore, or approx. US $55,000).

Defending champions Gujarat Titans were left with INR 0.15 crore (approx. US $18,000) while three teams – Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals – had INR 0.10 crore (approx. US $12,000).

The IPL is expected to finalise the player pool for the auction by early December after the franchises submit the list of players that are being released, the deadline for which is November 15.

While the mega auction in February was held over two days, the mini-auction will be wrapped up in just one day. Mini auctions in the past, however, have produced some of the most expensive buys, especially in the overseas players category.

This year franchises are keen to see if allrounders Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Cameron Green will put their names forward for the auction. If they do, they are likely to be in high demand.

Three teams – Punjab, Delhi and Lucknow – bought only seven overseas players in the 2022 auction, so they could be on the lookout to fill that eighth and final spot. Six franchises had also brought in injury replacements for last season and they will have to decide whether to retain the replacement player or the original player, or both if the player limit allows. (ESPNcricinfo)