IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Rajasthan Royals (RR) Players Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Can Target

IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Rajasthan Royals (RR) Players Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Can Target. Lucknow Super Giants were one of the two new franchises that made their debut in IPL 2022. The Lucknow-based franchise became the first one to represent Uttar Pradesh in the Indian Premier League. KL Rahul was named the captain of the team. The team management formed a stellar squad at the IPL 2022 mega auction.

As expected, LSG made it to the playoffs in their debut season, but they could not win the title. Lucknow finished third on the points table, meaning they had to play in the Eliminator match. Royal Challengers Bangalore knocked them out of the competition by defeating them in the Eliminator match. Lucknow Super Giants may release Indian batter Manish Pandey, Australian fast bowler Andrew Tye, and Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis because of his hefty price tag.

Rajasthan Royals had a memorable campaign during the IPL 2022. They meant business from the very first game and finished second at the end of the group stage with nine wins in 14 games. Sanju Samson & co. conquered Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second qualifier to reach the Final but failed to recreate history as they lost the summit clash to Gujarat Titans.

Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal led Rajasthan’s charge in the IPL 2022 season and were the winners of the Orange Cap and Purple Cap respectively. The think tank had done a pretty good job at the mega auction 2022 to assemble a quality squad and it clearly paid dividends.

Rajasthan Royals were the first-ever champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) way back in 2008, but after winning the inaugural season of the league, they lost their way for a long time and struggled to even make it to the playoffs consistently in the last decade.

However, during the last IPL 2022, after assembling a new team in the mega auction, Rajasthan Royals showed the old spark again under the captaincy of Sanju Samson and they made it to the final of the tournament before losing against the Gujarat Titans. Now ahead of the next IPL 2023 mini-auction, which will be held in mid-December, Rajasthan Royals might retain most of their players from the last year’s squad.

IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Rajasthan Royals (RR) Players Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) Can Target

James Neesham

James Neesham is a rare commodity in the T20 cricketing realm as there are not many pace-bowling all-rounders out there who are also explosive finishers. Rajasthan Royals signed the Kiwi all-rounder for INR 1.5 crore in the auction for IPL 2022.

However, the all-rounder didn’t get many chances in playing XI as all four overseas slots were occupied. The southpaw got two matches, where he scored 31 runs in those two games but was too expensive with the ball without taking a wicket.

Devdutt Padikkal

Rajasthan Royals went all out for the youngster in the auction for IPL 2022 and broke the bank by shelling out INR 7.75 crore to sign Devdutt Padikkal. However, the left-handed southpaw played most of his games out of his natural opening position at number three and looked out of sorts there despite scoring runs.

Devdutt Padikkal got a bit stuck against the spinners after the powerplay. The Karnataka batter had an underwhelming strike rate of 122.87 in the IPL 2022. Furthermore, the rise of Yashasvi Jaiswal last year means Devdutt Padikkal won’t get a chance at the top in the IPL 2023.

Devdutt Padikkal was acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 20 lacs at the player auction prior to IPL 2019 and that proved to be a game-changer. In his debut season in 2020, he amassed 473 runs with 5 fifties and in 2022, he scored 411 runs with 1 century and 1 fifty. However, he had a moderate IPL 2022 season, where he managed only 376 runs in 17 games averaging only 22.12. If he’s released by Rajasthan, Lucknow may target him in IPL 2023 auctions.

Navdeep Saini

Navdeep Saini is one of the brightest fast-bowling prospects in India at the moment. He can quite comfortably clock in excess of 140 kmph on the speed gun.  The 2018 Player Auction saw a fierce bidding war for the youngster and RCB successfully emerged on top to buy him for INR 3 Crores.

He was picked by RR for INR 2.6 crore in IPL 2022 auctions but he only managed to pick 3 scalps in 2 games averaging 24. With Indian pacers like Kuldeep Sen and Prasidh Krishna available, Rajasthan Royals may release Navdeep Saini and Lucknow may try to acquire his services in IPL 2023. Lucknow will target him in IPL 2023.