Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari have not entered their names for upcoming IPL 2023 mini-auction - Reports 

Indian Test specialist batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari will reportedly not be a part of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 mini-auction. The auction has not treated the pair kindly in the past due to their conventional style of play.

The IPL organizers recently revealed that a total of 991 players (714 Indian and 277 overseas) have registered their names for the mini-auction.

The list, which includes various base-price brackets, has a slew of high-profile names like Ben Stokes, Cameron Green, and Sam Curran.

However, Pujara and Vihari will be plying their trade elsewhere during the auction as well as when the tournament unfolds. Although Pujara is an IPL winner, having been part of the triumphant Chennai Super Kings (CSK) squad in 2021, his last appearance in the competition came in 2014.

Vihari, on the other hand, was unsold at the last auction along with Pujara. He last played in the IPL during the 2019 edition, representing the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

A source tracking the developments told the Times of India:

"Since this is a mini-auction, both Pujara and Vihari knew that teams will have a limited budget. So, both sensibly decided to give this auction a miss."

The source added:

"This list will be pruned to half-say about 450-odd players, by December 9 - the deadline for preparing the shortlist. Expect around 200 players to go under the hammer, eventually."

Pujara ended up playing for Sussex in the County Championship following a snub at the IPL 2022 mega-auction. The stint in England turned out to be a turning point as the right-handed batter was able to reclaim his spot in the Test squad after being dropped for the home series against Sri Lanka.

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Virtual participation in the IPL 2023 is highly likely

Several franchises have reportedly requested for the mini-auction to be shifted from the planned December 23 date.

However, with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) unlikely to budge from their decision, franchises have come up with a creative solution to unite their think tank for the event.

The teams plan to include members that are not present at the auction through a virtual medium. According to the report, the BCCI is likely to sanction the request to allow members to be present virtually at the auction table. The source added:

"Almost all the franchisees have foreign coaches or members of support staff. Everyone won't be able to travel to Kochi. The Board is likely to allow the team's support staff to participate in the auction virtually."

The mini-auction is scheduled to take place on December 23 in Kochi. The next season of the competition is reported to begin on either March 31 or April 1, with defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) set to get things started in Ahmedabad.

Should Pujara and Vihari have made their presence at the mini-auction? Let us know what you think.

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