IPL 2023: 3 Players Rajasthan Royals might pick at mini auction:
Looking at their recent performances, RR could show faith in a few players to strengthen their team for the 2023 IPL campaign.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) season looked incredible by qualifying for the tournament's final. Although the RR couldn’t end up becoming champions by losing to Gujarat Titans in the final game, looking at their performances, they can extract many positives for the next season. Their premier players Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal won the Orange Cap and Purple Cap respectively with 863 runs and 27 wickets respectively in 17 games.
In the recent T20 World Cup 2022, Buttler again rocked the tournament by notching up 225 runs in six games at an average of 45.00. Their skipper Sanju Samson also looked in decent touch in 1st OD against NZ. Looking at these signs, it can be said that the Royals could have a great season ahead in 2023.
On the other side, they are trying to revamp their team also by releasing some non-performing names before the IPL mini-auction 2023. Now, after getting rid of some underwhelming performers of the last season, the RR, in the auction, will look to rope in some players who could be stalwarts for the team by contributing well in IPL 2023.
Players RR might look to buy for IPL 2023:
1. Narayan Jagadeesan
In the mini-auction 2023, he could be an important name for the franchises as recently he notched up a record 277 runs off just 141 deliveries against Arunachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022. With this innings, he shattered many records, and among all, one of them was by becoming the highest individual scorer in a List A innings. Looking at his current form, the Royals could go for him at the auction.
2. Nicholas Pooran
Nicholas Pooran is going through a rough patch nowadays as he had to resign from the white-ball captaincy of the West Indies cricket team due to a disappointing T20 World Cup 2022 performance of the team. On November 15, he didn’t make it to the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) retention list also and with this latest development, he will feature in the IPL mini-auction in the month of December.
Last time, Pooran was one of the most expensive players in the auction by getting sold at a whopping 10.75 crores. This time too, he could be in demand among the franchises due to his fearless batting style. Currently, the RR are lacking a reliable finisher as Riyan Parag in the lower middle order looked ineffective in the last season by racking up only 183 runs in 17 games at an extremely poor average of 16.64.
While Pooran, in the last edition for SRH, despite scoring 306 runs in 14 games with an impressive average of 38.25 failed to satisfy the SRH franchise. But with these figures, he could convince RR to invest in him at the auction to strengthen the team for the next season.
3. Jason Holder
Going through his poor figures in the last season, LSG refused to believe in him for their next edition, but in the 2023 auction, many franchises could bid for him after noting his past displays and his reputation as an all-rounder in international cricket. The RR franchise, in the last edition, gave a chance to Jimmy Neesham to deliver as an all-rounder but the New Zealander was unsuccessful to do so.
This time, after releasing Neesham, RR’s search for an all-rounder will continue at the auction, and Holder with his experience and capability could be an ideal candidate for the post. The West Indies cricketer, with his fast bowling, can chip in well by contributing to the team with other bowlers such as Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, and Yuzvendra Chahal. With the bat too, he could bring out positives in the team with well-known figures such as Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, and his West Indies teammate Shimron Hetmyer.