While IPL 2023 auctions are all set to take place on Friday, 23 December at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Kochi the heartbeats of players trying their luck in the auctions are rising.

A total of 61 batters, 155 allrounders, 58 wicket keepers and 131 bowlers will be going under the hammer in the IPL 2023 auction.

Advertisement

Among the players, there are many Indian veterans who are also going to feature in the bidding. Chances are that this time around, five of the veterans too might remain unsold.

Here are some of the Indian players who might go unsold in the auctions:

1) Ajinkya Rahane

The former Indian test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has a great record when it comes to IPL. But he has not been looking good in the past few seasons. Last year, Kolkata Knight Riders bought him at a base price of Rs 1 crore. But the Indian veteran failed to live up to the expectations and didn’t have a good season last year. There are high chances that the star Indian batsman might remain unsold in the IPL 2023 auctions. IPL 2022 was the last time we saw Ajinkya Rahane in the Indian Premier League.

2) Piyush Chawla

With younger players coming into the play, the chances for Piyush Chawla to get a bid are relatively low. Teams may look for young and new players who might shape up their team combinations in future courses of action. The veteran Indian spinner was picked up by Mumbai Indians in the 2020 auctions. He could only pick 6 wickets in the 7 games he got to play. In the next edition of IPL also he just got a solidarity match to play. He went on to remain unsold in IPL 2022 auctions and he might not get a bid in this season as well.

3) Ishant Sharma

Ishant Sharma is one of the most respected Indian pacers specially when it comes to test cricket. When it comes to red ball cricket, he is one of the most decorated fast bowlers that India has produced. He is the only second pacer to have 100 or more appearances. But in white ball cricket and that too in IPL he has not been much effective. He was unsold in IPL 2022 auctions, and we might see him remaining unsold in this edition as well.

4) Karun Nair

Karun Nair is widely remembered as the only batsman after Virendra Sehwag to have scored a triple century in test cricket. He has been constantly featuring in the playing 11 of different IPL teams but has not looked in a good touch since 2019. In the previous season also, he played just 3 games and scored 16 runs for Rajasthan Royals. Considering the intense competition between youngsters, his chances of getting a bid in IPL 2023 auctions are very low.

5) Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey is another Indian youngster who has been struggling with his form in the last few years. He is a class player and is very talented but fails to put that up on show whenever he gets an opportunity. In IPL 2022, Lucknow Super Giants bought him at a very high bid of Rs 4.6 crores, but he failed to justify his price tag by just scoring 88 runs off 6 innings. After his consistent not so good form, it is speculated that franchises might not go after him and explore some other options.