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All 10 Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises made significant improvements to their existing rosters at the 2023 auction, which was held on December 23 in Kochi.
Understandably, the IPL teams shelled out significant amounts of cash to secure their future, with young stars like Sam Curran, Cameron Green, Nicholas Pooran, and Harry Brook securing massive deals. At the other end of the spectrum, however, were a few seasoned veterans who were rather fortunate to find buyers despite their advanced age.
Here are three senior Indian cricketers who were lucky to be picked up in the IPL 2023 auction.
#3 Piyush Chawla - Mumbai Indians
On the back of a few unimpressive campaigns, Piyush Chawla went unsold at his base price of ₹1 crore in the IPL 2022 mega-auction. He was snapped up for ₹50 lakh by the Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the 2023 season, handing him another opportunity to prove his worth in the league.
Chawla hasn't averaged more than one wicket per game since IPL 2014, and his economy rates in his last three seasons read 9.5, 9.09, and 8.96. Although he's one of the most prolific bowlers in the history of the tournament, the veteran leggie has been found wanting in recent times.
MI could've gone after younger wrist-spinners at the IPL 2023 auction, but they decided to throw Chawla another bone. He was rather fortunate that the five-time champions took a punt on him.
#2 Mohit Sharma - Gujarat Titans
Mohit Sharma has played only two IPL matches since 2019, having gone for runs in both of them. Overall, in his career, the fast bowler has 92 wickets from 86 matches at an economy rate of 8.45.
The Gujarat Titans (GT) surprisingly raised their paddle for Mohit, who had set his base price at ₹50 lakh. Like Chawla, he hasn't averaged more than one wicket per game since IPL 2014, when he recorded 23 scalps at an economy rate of 8.39.
Few would've expected Mohit to find a home for IPL 2023, with several promising youngsters making waves in domestic cricket. The 34-year-old will want to justify the Titans' faith in him.
#1 Ishant Sharma - Delhi Capitals
It wouldn't be a stretch to claim that Ishant Sharma has never had a successful IPL season. He made 16 appearances back in 2013, scalping 15 wickets at an economy rate of 7.81. Since then, though, the speedster has played more than 10 games a season only once.
Ishant picked up only one wicket over the course of the 2020 and 2021 editions of the league, leading to him going unsold in the 2022 mega-auction at his base price of ₹1.5 crore. He lowered his expectations to ₹50 lakh this time around, with the Delhi Capitals (DC) choosing to give him another run.
Ishant isn't even active at the Test level anymore, with India having started to look elsewhere. The veteran fast bowler was very fortunate to have a paddle raised for him at the IPL 2023 auction.
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Poll : Will any of these three players contribute significantly to their respective franchises in IPL 2023?
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