Indian T20 League 2023: Top 3 surprising buys in mini-auction for next season

Indian T20 League is one of the biggest franchise T20 Leagues all around the globe. First, on 15 November 2022, all teams submitted their final list of released and retained players list. Then, on 23 December, all teams added more players to their squads in order to strengthen themselves for the next season.

Many players went big in the auction. Like, Sam Curran became the most expensive player in the history of the tournament. But, some big-name players also went unsold for the next season of the Indian T20 League. Meanwhile, some franchises went for some names which were quite unexpected and surprising for fans.    

Here are the top three surprising buys in the mini-auction for the Indian T20 League 2023:

Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal (Image Source: Twitter)

This batter from Karnataka was the skipper for the Punjab franchise in the last edition of the Indian T20 League. However, he failed to guide his team from the front. As a result, the franchise released him before this mini-auction. Mayank Agarwal was available at a base price of INR 2 Crores. In this tournament, Agarwal has played 113 matches so far where he has scored 2327 runs, at an average of 22.59.

In the Indian T20 League 2022, Agarwal scored 196 runs in 13 matches at an average of 16.33. He managed only one fifty throughout the season. So, fans were expecting that this batter might find it tough to get into any team. But, many franchises like Bangalore, Punjab, Chennai, and Hyderabad began the bidding war. Finally, Hyderabad bought him for INR 8.5 Crores for the next season.    

Piyush Chawla

Piyush Chawla (Image Source: Twitter)

This veteran spinner was not a part of the last season in the Indian T20 League. Piyush Chawla was a part of the commentary teams. However, in this auction, his base price was INR 50 Lakhs. But, No one expected a bid from any team but Mumbai surprised everyone by buying him at his base price.

Speaking of his career, Piyush Chawla has represented several franchises over the years in this tournament. He has played for the Kolkata, Chennai, Mumbai, and Punjab franchises. As of now, he has played 165 matches so far and Chawla has taken 157 wickets. He has bowled at an economy of 7.88.       

Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran (Image Source: Twitter)

This batter played for the Hyderabad franchise in the last season of the Indian T20 League. Nicholas Pooran had a decent season as he scored 306 runs at an average of 38.25 in 14 matches. However, he had a disaster 20-20 World Cup 2022 campaign for West Indies, both as a skipper and an individual batter. But, after that, he showed his class when he won the Abu Dhabi T10 League.

His base price was INR 2 Crores in the mini-auction. Based on his recent performance, fans were expecting to get him sold at the base price only. But, Chennai, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Lucknow began a bidding war. Finally, Lucknow bought him for a whopping amount of INR 16 Crores. Even, fans were shocked to see this player bagging that amount for the next season.