The 2023 IPL auction saw franchises spending their money on international players like Sam Curran, Ben Stokes, Cameron Green, and Nicolas Pooran, buying them for hefty prices. Apart from these, franchisees also roped in a lot of young Indian talents.
Some of the players were unsold due to poor performances. The IPL 2023 auction saw a few good players in the T20I format being sold for cheap prices that could strengthen their teams ahead of the tournament.
Here we look at the 3 steal buys of the IPL 2023 auction.
#1 Kane Williamson
The former Sunrisers Hyderabad player Kane Williamson was not bought in the first set during the 2023 IPL auction. He was retained by the SRH franchise during the 2022 IPL for Rs 14 Crore. Williamson was released due to his inconsistent performances last year.
He was bought by the defending Champions Gujarat Titans for Rs 2 Crore. Williamson has struggled in the T20I format recently. GT coach Ashish Nehra said that Kane Williamson would bat at number 3 in the 2023 edition of the IPL.
Williamson played a total of 13 matches in IPL 2022 with 216 runs including just 1 half-century to his name. His best score in the tournament was 57 as SRH struggled to finish in the playoffs stage.
#2 Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib AL Hasan has been the backbone of the Bangladesh team for a quite long time. After being not selected initially, he became the last player to be signed by Kolkata Knight Riders bought the all-rounder 1.5 Crore.
AL Hasan featured in the Indian Premier League and has created a major impact on Bangladesh. He played for Kolkata Knight Riders from 2011 till 2017. He was then bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018 and played till 2019.
Shakib had the best year while batting for SRH during the 2019 season. He played 17 matches and scored 239 runs with the best score of 35. He played a key role in helping SRH qualify for the playoffs and lost in the eliminator.
His inclusion in the Kolkata Knight Riders will strengthen their all-around skills as they struggled badly in the 2022 edition of IPL. Shakib Hasan did not feature in the 2022 IPL and would be looking forward to a great outing with both bat and ball helping KKR to perform well in this year’s IPL.
#3 Reece Topley
Reece Topley is a decent left-handed bowler from England. He created a major impact with a six-wicket haul against India in the 2nd ODI match played at Lords Cricket Ground this year.
Royal Challengers Bangalore bought Topley for just 1.9 Crore. He can create an impact with his height creating bounce and pace on Indian pitches.
Topley will be a lethal pair along with Josh Hazlewood and would be looking to take early wickets. He would be looking to do well in his first IPL tournament on batting pitches in India. The left-arm pace bowler has played so far 22 T20I matches with 22 wickets at an economy of 8.30 runs per over.
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