IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Rajasthan Royals (RR) Players Punjab Kings (PBKS) Can Target

IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Rajasthan Royals (RR) Players Punjab Kings (PBKS) Can Target. After the IPL 2022 mega auction, the cricket legends weighted Punjab Kings among the probable teams to reach the playoff and even win the IPL trophy. The reason was that they had a very good team comprising a bunch of talented utility players who could single-handedly win matches for the franchise.

But, after the IPL league stage finished, the Mayank Agarwal-led team found themselves packing their bags with just 7 wins from 14 matches, finishing the IPL 2022 points table in the 6^th position. There will be a lot of brainstorming from now leading up to the 16^th edition of the IPL. The likes of Shahrukh Khan, Benny Howell, Sandeep Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, and even IPL 2022 skipper Mayank Agarwal may be released by the franchise.

According to several reports, the Mohali-based franchise is eyeing to release three expensive buys – Mayank Agarwal (INR 12 crore), Shahrukh Khan (INR 9 crore) and Odean Smith (INR 6 crore) – so that they will enter the mini-auction with a big purse.

Veteran Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan has been confirmed as the new captain of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise for the forthcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Wednesday. Shikhar Dhawan, who was not a part of the Indian T20I World Cup 2022 squad and is considered an ODI specialist and ODI skipper nowadays will replace another opener Mayank Agarwal as the leader of the Punjab-based franchise in the IPL 2023.

Rajasthan Royals had a memorable campaign during the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League 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.

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. Rajasthan Royals may release the likes of Navdeep Saini, Daryl Mitchell, Rassie van der Dussen, and Corbin Bosch before IPL 2023 mini auctions. They might also release the likes of Karun Nair and Obed McCoy before IPL 2023.

IPL 2023 Auction: 3 Rajasthan Royals (RR) Players Punjab Kings (PBKS) Can Target

Rassie van der Dussen

South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen, the right-hander can play at No.3 and give a cushion to the openers. He can take apart the opposition on his day. Therefore, Punjab Kings can target the player to improve their batting attack.

Standing tall at 6 feet 2 inches, Rassie van der Dussen finally got to savor IPL action after playing league cricket across the world in South Africa, England, Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, and the Caribbean. A naturally attacking batter, Rassie van der Dussen was bought for INR 1 crore by Rajasthan Royals. The South African batter has enough international experience.

He scored only 22 runs in 3 games in IPL 2022 averaging a mere 11 and a below-par strike rate of 91.67. If he’s released by Rajasthan, Punjab Kings can acquire him in IPL 2023 squad.

Daryl Mitchell

Son of a former New Zealand rugby union player and coach, Daryl Mitchell is an all-rounder, who bowls medium pace. He scored only 33 runs and was wicketless in the 2 IPL games he played for Rajasthan Royals in his maiden IPL 2022 season.

The all-rounder had a good T20 World Cup 2022 (109 runs in 4 T20Is averaging 54.5) but will be in all probability released by Rajasthan before IPL 2023 mini auctions. If he’s released, Punjab Kings might target the Kiwi all-rounder in IPL 2023 to team up with overseas all-rounders Odean Smith and Liam Livingstone. Daryl Mitchell went to Rajasthan Royals for INR 75 lakh in IPL 2022.

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 IPL 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 Punjab may try to acquire his services in IPL 2023. Punjab will try to include him in IPL 2023 squad, teaming up with pacers like Vaibhav Arora, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Ishan Porel, Arshdeep Singh, Odean Smith, and Kagiso Rabada.