Indian Premier League:  Three things to expect from the mini-auction leading up to the IPL

Unlike 2022’s mega-auction, this is a smaller-scale auction and will only stretch a day. And most teams only released players they didn’t need, although some have gone for rehauls – as we will get to in a bit. 

That said, we can look forward to plenty on a day setting the tone for the IPL. We can expect three significant things to happen in the 2023 IPL mini-auction. 

Breaking the bank for all-rounders – The mini-auctions are less about team building and more about adding to an already established squad. Perhaps that is why all-rounders are always the most highly sought-after players in these events; after all, they plug a hole at both ends of the cricket spectrum. 

And don’t forget, when Ben Stokes and Chris Morris became expensive buys in the auction, it took place during the mini auctions, not a mega one. Even this time around, players like Sam Curran, Cameroon Green, Jason Holder, Adam Milne, and Jimmy Neesham, among many others, are in the auction. 

Thus it would seem a reasonable assumption that all of these players would fetch more than a few significant bids – and might even close the day as the highest-paid stars. 

KKR, SRH, & PBKS team building – But some teams miss the memo when it comes to mini auctions and will instead choose to release many players to be able to spend big money on whoever they please. Sunrisers Hyderabad, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Punjab Kings are three such franchises. 

And while SRH (42 crores) and PBKS (32 crores) will have money to spend, KKR are in a fix – they have 11 slots potentially that they can fill, with only seven crores in the bank. How they manoeuvre around adding to a squad with a pretty strong core is anyone’s guess at this point. 

As for SRH and PBKS, both are teams who have previously developed reputations of being the biggest spenders in auctions – mainly because they will never build a team for the long term and prefer to shed and spend before every auction. Will it finally work for them this time? Only time will tell.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Squads 👥<br>Purse remaining 💰<br><br>Here’s how the 1️⃣0️⃣ teams stack up ahead of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TATAIPLAuction?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TATAIPLAuction</a> 2023 ✅👌🏻 <a href="https://t.co/LSDwyBsQJI">pic.twitter.com/LSDwyBsQJI</a></p>&mdash; IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/IPL/status/1605834728057323522?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Many an unsold player – Being part of an IPL franchise is now a dream for many cricketers. The money is good, you get to play in front of passionate fans, with millions watching at home, and you’re part of a league that is seen as a truly revolutionary one. 

However, one problem with that dream; only some get to fulfil it. 

Even in this auction, there will be a lot of broken hearts. A total of 405 players will be part of the event; from there, a maximum of 87 vacancies are up for grabs. That isn’t great odds and does ensure that many a fan favourite might go unsold.