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We are drawing closer to the IPL 2023 Auction and if you have seen the auction list, you know that Set 2 will see the most exciting bids.
It comprises the best overseas all-rounders - England's Ben Stokes, Australia's Cameron Green, England's Sam Curran, Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, West Indies' Jason Holder, and Odean Smith, and Zimbabwe's Sikander Raza.
In 11 of the 15 IPL auctions so far, all-rounders have been the most expensive signings. Given India haven't yet started producing quality pace all-rounders, every team needs at least one from the outside to maintain their balance.
Below, we'll predict the possible most expensive signings from Set 2!
#3 Sam Curran (Base price ₹2 crore)
At just 24 years of age, with a left-arm angle, the ability to bowl with both the new ball, and at the death, pinch-hitting potential with the bat, IPL experience, and T20 World Cup winner, Sam Curran has everything going for him in the IPL 2023 Auction.
He has 32 wickets from as many matches for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) at an average of 31.09 and 337 runs, including two fifties, at a strike rate of 149.78.
He was England's best bowler at the 2022 World Cup, stepping up with his shrewd pace variations and use of angles to record a superb economy rate of 6.56 in death overs. The youngster was so good, England hardly missed Jofra Archer.
Although he missed the last IPL season, Curran isn't too injury-prone. CSK, Mumbai Indians (MI), Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), PBKS, and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) all desperately need all-rounders and can go all out for him.
A ₹15 crore bid for him seems highly likely and it can go even further depending on how the auction goes. Not only in Set 2, but he could also be the highest-paid player in the entire IPL 2023 auction.
#2 Cameron Green (Base price ₹2 crore)
Australia's "next big thing" Cameron Green is a year younger than Curran but quicker as a bowler and technically more solid as a batter. He can play in the top order or as a finisher, while easily providing four overs of 140 kmph every day. Some would say he's the best batting all-rounder available in the IPL 2023 auction.
The only area that Green lacks behind Curran is experience. If signed, this will be his first season in the IPL. He boasts impressive stats in every format, but eight T20Is (139 runs at a strike rate of 173.75 and five wickets at an average of 35.60) and 21 domestic T20s is a small sample size.
However, he showed enough promise in his 52 (21), the joint-fastest T20I half-century for his country, against India in September. Big purse players SRH, LSG, and PBKS will likely see him as a long-term asset while deciding their budgets for Set 2 of the IPL 2023 auction.
#1 Ben Stokes (Base price ₹2 crore)
Ben Stokes, the two-time top-paid player in IPL auctions (2017 and 2018), making the list was almost inevitable.
Stokes will invite similar suitors to Green, given his versatile batting class and dependable right-arm fast-medium bowling.
The 31-year-old is massively ahead of both Curran and Green in terms of experience, has two centuries in a just over four-year-long IPL career, and is a proven international match-winner and leader. Which team wouldn't want that?
However, in the T20 World Cup, Stokes' struggles didn't make him look like the modern-day ball smasher that IPL teams will be looking for.
He couldn't get to double digits in his first three innings. Although he got England over the line in the final with his 52* (49), the knock was atypical of his team's style of play and made the chase more difficult than it should've been.
Add to that the England Test captain's struggles with injuries during his time with the Rajasthan Royals (RR), and it seems likely that most teams will see him as the backup if they can't sign the above two all-rounders in Set 2 of the IPL 2023 Auction.
Also Read: 3 oldest players in the IPL 2023 auction
