The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction is set to take place in Kochi on Friday.
The one-day mini-auction will set the stage for all 10 teams to make up their final squads before the 16th season of the marquee league next year. While a maximum of 87 slots open for the teams, a big attraction will be the 30 slots open for the biggest overseas T20 stars.
Here is a look at the top foreign players who could start a bidding war at the IPL auction on December 23:
BEN STOKES (ENGLAND)
Ben Stokes is arguably modern cricket’s biggest on-field miracle worker. In the space of six years, between a harrowing last over to West Indies’ Carlos Brathwaite in the 2016 T20 World Cup final defeat and a match-winning fifty (his first in T20Is) in the 2022 final, Stokes has emerged at the forefront of England’s white-ball redefinition. The English Test captain is now in the works of rebranding its red-ball mindset with coach Brendon McCullum.
Having taken a break for mental health concerns and retired from ODI cricket within the last year, a rejuvenated Stokes is hoping for a return to the IPL after the 2021 season. In his two stints in the league - Rising Pune Supergiant (2017) and Rajasthan Royals (2018-2021) - Stokes had delivered flashes of his belligerent best. The 31-year-old’s brief IPL profile reads 943 runs from 43 matches with two centuries, besides 28 wickets with his handy medium-pace bowling.
Stokes will be at the top of the pile as teams gun for an X-factor all-rounder. His leadership acumen will also attract a team like the Sunrisers Hyderabad, which enters the auction with the highest purse (INR 42.25 crore) and has no designated leader yet. The mini-auctions have historically seen the biggest bids in the IPL, and Stokes could nudge the INR 16.25 crore magic figure (the most expensive bid ever) on December 23.
CAMERON GREEN (AUSTRALIA)
Cameron Green’s rapid ascent to Australia’s Test squad in 2020 with his indispensable all-round talent made him a no-brainer addition to its T20I set-up. However, the six-foot-six-inch tall Green had to wait nearly two years to make his T20I debut on the cusp of a home T20 World Cup. Green initially missed the World Cup squad but was soon drafted in after an injury to Josh Inglis.
The push for the 23-year-old’s inclusion came heavily after a thumping assault on India away from home in the T20I series in September 2022. Green struck two manic half-centuries in three matches in the series - a 30-ball 61 and a 21-ball 52 (the fastest fifty against India in T20Is) - that saw his stocks rise as a flexible all-rounder who can ace multiple roles. Green will be eyeing his first IPL stint and has set a base price of INR 2 crore - the easiest bid for franchises that will be searching for an overseas all-rounder.
SAM CURRAN (ENGLAND)
England left-armer Sam Curran missed the 2021 T20 World Cup due to a back injury, with elder brother Tom replacing him in the squad. The 24-year-old, however, made a resounding comeback as he spearheaded an English attack which was depleted by another set of injuries during the World Cup in Australia this year.
Curran emerged as the star of the final with figures of three for 12 as England pipped Pakistan to earn its second title - he finished as the second-highest wicket-taker with 13 wickets in the tournament. A handy bat, Curran was often used as a floater during his previous stint in the IPL by Chennai Super Kings (2020-2021).
Curran’s adept control and wicket-taking proficiency were a standout in the World Cup - a feature that could turn his INR 2 crore base price multiple times over at Friday’s auction. This will mark Curran’s fourth season in the league after he debuted with Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2019.
HARRY BROOK (ENGLAND)
Touted as the next big thing in English cricketing circles, 23-year-old Harry Brook was part of England’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign in Australia last month. While Brook weathered the storm with a 23-ball 20 in the final against Pakistan alongside senior teammate Stokes, the dashing youngster also possesses the goods to thwart the opposition with his powerful strokeplay.
Brook made his name in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year when he smashed the second-fastest PSL ton (48 balls) for champion Lahore Qalandars. Brook was also the youngest to achieve the feat (22y 362d) as he amassed 264 runs in eight innings at an astounding strike rate of 171.42. Brook could add to the firepower of teams scrambling to fix their middle-order woes at an opening bid of INR 1.5 crore.
NICHOLAS POORAN (WEST INDIES)
Nicholas Pooran was set for bigger things after a decent 2020 season with Punjab Kings (353 runs, 25 sixes). However, a horrendous run the next season with four ducks in 12 innings forced Pooran’s exit from Punjab. The West Indies power-hitter surprisingly found a hefty lift of INR 10.75 crore - nearly 10 times his base price - from Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the 2022 mega-auction.
Pooran returned with 306 runs from 14 outings as a mediocre SRH outfit failed to qualify for the playoffs. In a forgetful November, Pooran stepped down as West Indies white-ball captain following its shock T20 World Cup exit while the Orange Army released him into the player pool for the mini-auction.
The 27-year-old found his mojo back with a mind-boggling run in the Abu Dhabi T10 league where he led Deccan Gladiators to the title. Pooran finished as the leading run-scorer with 345 runs in 10 innings with a staggering 234.69 strike rate. Big bids could thus swing the wicket-keeper batter’s way as he starts at a base price of INR 2 crore.
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