The defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) had a strategy of adding more depth to their otherwise strong squad as they geared up for a successful title heading into the IPL 2023 mini-auction that took place in Kochi on Friday, December 23. They had traded seasoned New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson and Afghanistan stumper Rahmanullah Gurbaz to the Kolkata Knight Riders in the months leading up to this event.
GT who had finished as the table-toppers of IPL 2022 before getting the better of the Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1 and the final to bag their maiden IPL crown had come into this year’s mini-auction with a purse of INR 19.25 crore with 10 slots available that included seven Indian and three overseas players.
Ahead of the IPL 2023 auction, the Hardik Pandya-led side had parted ways with the likes of Dominic Drakes, Gurkeerat Singh, Jason Roy and Varun Aaron apart from Lockie Ferguson and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
5. Odean Smith (INR 50 lakh)
Odean Smith, the West Indies medium-fast bowling all-rounder, was bought by the Gujarat Titans for INR 50 Lakhs at the IPL 2023 mini-auctions held in Kochi on Friday, December 23. Smith was one of the six players in Set 2, designed for all-rounders, which comprised his West Indies teammate Jason Holder, England’s Ben Stokes and Sam Curran, Bangladesh star Shakib Al Hasan, Australia’s Cameron Green and Zimbabwe’ Sikandar Raza.
Smith has represented the West Indies in 24 T20Is since his debut in 2018 and five ODIs – all in 2022 – till date. He has bagged 24 wickets at an economy of 9.84 and aggregates 162 runs at a strike-rate of 139.65 in T20Is. Overall, he has bagged 70 wickets and scored 485 runs at a strike-rate of 139 from 66 appearances in all T20 cricket.
4. KS Bharat (INR 1.2 crore)
The wicket-keeper batter of the Indian Test team- K.S Bharat will be representing defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL 2023. He was signed by Gujarat Titans for INR 1.2 crore. Before joining Gujarat, he was with the Delhi Capitals (DC). When he was with the Capitals, he did not receive enough opportunities. The Andhra-based batter played only two matches, scoring just eight runs in the 2022 season. He was released by the Capitals ahead of the auction before being picked by the Titans.
The defending champions could use him as a top-order batter. In the 2021 season, he proved himself to be a match-winner for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) while batting at no. 3, scoring 191 runs at 38.20 in eight matches. K.S Bharat’s journey in the IPL began in 2015 when he was picked up by Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in the auction. However, he did not get a chance to play in the cash-rich league till the 2021 season of the IPL.
3. Kane Williamson (INR 2 crore)
Kane Williamson was picked by Gujarat Titans during IPL 2023 auction. The team bought the Kiwi player for Rs. 2 crores. during the auction. Kane Williamson had kept a base price of Rs. 2 crores in the IPL 2023 auction. Kane Williamson is a New Zealand player. He is a right-handed batsman who bats in the top order. Williamson had played in many IPL seasons in the past.
Williamson was part of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last season. He was released by the team ahead of IPL 2023 auction. Last season, Williamson also led Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament. In IPL 2023, the Kiwi star played 13 matches. He scored 216 runs in 13 games at an average of 19.64. He also hit 1 fifty in the tournament. Williamson first arrived in Indian Premier League in IPL 2015.
2. Joshua Little (INR 4.4 crore)
Joshua Little created history by becoming the first Ireland cricketer to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The left-arm pacer was picked in the Gujarat Titans XI in the IPL 2023 opener against Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. Little, who was a net bowler for CSK last year, was bought for ₹4.4 crore by GT in the mini-auction ahead of the 16th edition of the league. He was also the first Ireland cricketer to get picked in the IPL auction.
Little’s IPL debut did not start on the perfect note as he was taken apart by CSK opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and all-rounder Moeen Ali. He leaked 15 runs in the powerplay in his first over in the IPL. Little made a good comeback in his second spell after the powerplay. Although Gaikwad hit him for a six in the last ball of his second over but the young left-armer gave away only seven runs.
1. Shivam Mavi (INR 6 crore)
Shivam Mavi was signed by Gujarat Titans for Rs. 6 crore at the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday. The base price for Mavi was Rs. 40 Lakh, the highest for an Indian uncapped players. Kolkata Knight Riders opened the bidding kept and stayed in the race till Rs. 1 crore.
Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals entered the race later before Gujarat Giants launched aggressive bids for the player. Delhi Capitals entered the race too but it was the defending champion that sealed the signing for six crore.
Making his IPL debut in 2018, Mavi has played 32 games for Knight Riders. He has picked 30 wickets at an economy rate of 8.71. His personal best in the tournament was 4/21 against Rajasthan Royals in 2021. Mavi was also a part of India’s title winning Under-19 squad in 2018. He plays for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket.