As the exciting IPL 2023 auction came to an end, all teams
have shaped up nicely. Most of the teams did well in terms of filling their
gaps, which was witnessed in the 2022 season. English players, Sam Curran, B en
Stokes and Harry Brook were the top buys by Punjab Kings, Chennai Super Kings
and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.
Although big players come with enough experience and
reputation, the franchises also have a focus on finding players, who can provide
them value at a throwaway price. Few of the franchises were impressive to do
the proper research on the abilities of the players and secure their services
at their base price. Here are the five players who were the bargain buys at
IPL 2023 auction:
1. Sikandar Raza
The experienced all-rounder has had a prolific 2022, wherein
he helped Zimbabwe to secure victories from crunch moments. Sikandar was
phenomenal with his consistency against Bangladesh, which helped Zimbabwe to
secure T20I and ODI series victories.
In the T20 World Cup 2022, the 36-year-old scored 219 runs
and took 10 wickets in eight games. As a result, he got a maiden IPL contract
with Punjab Kings for his base price of 50 Lakhs. Sikandar will provide
much-needed stability to the batting order, and also a handy spin option.
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2. Phil Salt
The top-order batter Phil Salt was bought by Delhi Capitals
for a price of 2 Crores in the auction. An aggressive batter has played in BBL,
PSL and CPL. Furthermore, he was prolific in the 2022 domestic season, due to
which he deserves this price tag.
Salt slammed 353 runs in 10 innings of the Hundred 2022
while returning with 390 runs in the T20 Blast. Along with top-order, he has displayed
the ability to bat in the middle-order as well and can be the perfect backup
for Mitchell Marsh.
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3. Reece Topley
The England pacer, Reece Topley is known to be using the new
ball effectively, while getting nice swing and bounce due to his height. He was
impressed with his wicket-taking skills earlier this year in the 50-over format.
In 20 ODIs, he has bagged 33 wickets, with 6/24 coming against the Indian team.
Furthermore, Topley has 168 wickets to his name in 131 T20 appearances.
With a base price of 75 Lakhs, Topley was sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore
for 1.9 Crores. The franchise certainly got a quality option at a good price.
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4. David Wiese
One of the finest all-rounders in this format has gained
plenty of experience in franchise leagues. He has played in the BBL, PSL, CPL,
LPL and T10 leagues as well. Infact, Wiese has played 15 games for Royal
Challengers Bangalore.
The smartest buy of the IPL Auction was certainly, Wiese,
who was purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders for 1 Crore. He has 3,666 runs and 251
wickets in 314 T20 appearances to date and will be a valuable player for Knight
Riders.
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5. Adil Rashid
The cunning spinner has done exceedingly well in
international cricket, especially in the ODIs, with 169 wickets in 119 ODIs. Moreover,
he has bagged 93 wickets in 92 T20Is and is the second-highest wicket-taker for
England in the shortest format.
In his first-ever IPL season, Rashid was picked by Sunrisers
Hyderabad for 2 Crores. In particular, the leg-spinner was terrific against
Pakistan in the final of the T20 World Cup 2022 with figures of 2/22. He will
be a good addition to the side, and bowl in tandem with Washington Sundar.
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