IPL 2023: 7 players that all teams will want to buy in the December auctions

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has announced the final list of 405 players who will be up for bidding by franchises at the mini-auction on December 23 in Kochi, Kerala. The list was halved from the original list of 991 players.

Among the 405 players who are up for the auctions,

• 119 are capped,
• 282 are uncapped, and
• four players are from associate nations.

By the numbers: A maximum of 87 players are available, with up to 30 being slotted for the overseas players.

• The total auction pool amount for the franchises is Rs 206.5 crore. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will go into the auctions with the highest purse of Rs 42.25 crore; while Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) has the smallest, Rs 7.05 crore. 

The Sunrisers franchise, who released their most expensive player and skipper Kane Williamson, would go after big players in the auctions. It might also be that the franchise might get Williamson back for a lesser price.

Similarly, Shah Rukh Khan's KKR, which released players like Aaron Finch, Ajinkya Rahane, Sheldon Jackson and Aman Khan, would like to add one all-rounder to the team after having released Shakib Al Hasan from the squad in 2021. 

The IPL 2023 auctions will be interesting as some new names like South Africa's Russie Van Der Dussen, Bangladesh's Litton Das or Australia's Cameron Green might go for big amounts.

Here are 7 players who can be in high demand by the franchises at the auctions on December 23: 

1. Sam Curran: Sam Curran was the star bowler of England in T20 World Cup which England won. The all-rounder in World Cup scalped 13 wickets in the tournament, bagging the player of the tournament award. The left arm medium fast bowler also received the player of the match in the final against Pakistan where he clinched 3/13 winning the match for England. 

Although Curran didn't feature in the 2022 edition of IPL because of an injury, he has been a franchise favourite right from the beginning.

At the 2019 IPL auctions, he was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 7.25 crore, which was also the third highest bid at the auctions. Ahead of the 2020 season, he was released by Punjab and bought by Chennai Super Kings at Rs 5.5 crore.

• Curran's base price is Rs 2 crore. He has played 32 IPL matches with 32 wickets and 995 runs at an average of 31.09. 

Sunrisers Hyderabad, which has the highest purse of Rs 42.25 crore, would be eyeing Curran for their team.

2. Ben Stokes: The next big thing in IPL 2023 auctions is going to be Ben Stokes. The England all-rounder has been the architect of England's World Cup winning reigns, both in the 50-over one in 2019 and the T20 World Cup in 2022. 

Stokes, whose base price is Rs 2 crore, is expected to go as high as Rs 7-10 crore, given that Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad would definitely go after him. Although the swashbuckling all-rounder didn't feature in the 2022 edition of IPL and played just 1 game in 2021, he is going to be a hot commodity in the auctions because of his recent performances. 

Stokes was earlier part of the Rajasthan Royals franchise in IPL 2019, and was bagged by Rajasthan at a price of Rs 12.5 crore.

• He has played 43 IPL games, scoring 920 runs at an average of 25.56 and has 28 wickets to his name.

3. Cameron Green: The new Australian batting all-rounder is already a big talking point ahead of the IPL auctions. Green has not played any IPL games so far and will be making his debut in the coming season. 

The 23-year-old is a good hitter of the ball and he impressed everyone with his performance against India in the 3-match T20I series. Delhi Daredevils coach Ricky Ponting has already said that he has kept a good amount of money for Green for the auctions, and is very keen on having him on the team.

• Green made his T20I debut against Pakistan earlier this year and so far has played 8 games, scoring 178 runs at an average of 35.60. 

4. Shakib al Hasan: The Bangladeshi all-rounder has been part of IPL for a long time and surprisingly, he went unsold in the IPL 2022 auctions. Later, it came to be known that since Shakib had apprised the franchises ahead of the auctions that he wouldn't be available for the entire season, he went unsold.

Shakib was part of the KKR franchises in 2021 for a price of Rs 3.2 crore. In 2022, he was released by the management. 

• Shakib has been good with the bat as well as the ball in the recent series against India. Plus, his presence adds both depth and experience to the side he plays. 
• Therefore, franchises like SRH, Mumbai Indians or even Punjab Kings can go after him. Shakib's base price is Rs 1.5 crore.

5. Nicholas Pooran: The Caribbean wicketkeeper-batsman was part of SRH in 2022, and he had a good season with the bat, scoring 306 runs in 14 matches at an average of 38.25.

However, the SRH management wanted a multi-dimensional player at the price they gave to Pooran, and they released him ahead of the 2023 auctions.

Pooran, no doubt, is one of the cleanest hitters of the ball in the shortest format of the game and franchises like KKR who have released their wicketkeeper Sheldon Jackson, can target Pooran.

• Pooran's base price in IPL is Rs 2 crore. It might also be possible that the West Indian batter might not go for a hefty bidding, and might end up being sold for around Rs 3-4 crore.
• Still, he is a strong middle-order batter and his presence adds skill and experience to the side he's on.

6. Adil Rashid: The England leg-spinner who led the fireworks against Pakistan in the T20I World Cup finals, taking 2 wickets in his spell, is going to be a big deal in the auctions.

It was surprising that Rashid went unsold in 2022. He played only 1 game in IPL 2021; and that too for Punjab Kings. The franchise had bought him for a good price of Rs 1.5 crore. 

• Rashid is a fiery leg-spinner and with his variations and surprising googlies, can intimidate any team.
• Rashid's base price is also Rs 2 crore. 

7. Rilee Rossouw: The South-African batter has been on top of his form in the recently concluded T20 World Cup. He shot to the limelight after his knock of 109 runs off 56 balls against Bangladesh. 

Rossouw has also had a very good season against India in the 5-match T20I series. Due to his six-hitting abilities and his good record in T20 cricket, Rossouw is expected to bag a good deal in the IPL auction.

• Not many would know that Rossouw did appear in IPL 2014 and 2015, but played only 2 and 3 matches in both seasons. He returned to the South African team this year in July, after his contract with Kolpak ended.
• His base price is Rs 2 crore.

The IPL auctions will start at 2.30 pm on December 23, in Kochi, Kerala.