Robin Uthappa decodes Kolkata and Chennai’s auction strategy ahead of Indian T20 League 2023 mini-auction

Even though Kolkata may not have much cash on hand (7.05 crore) going into the Indian T20 League 2023 auction on December 23, they have made it clear that they are making changes by releasing up to 16 players from their roster.

Out of those 16, at least three were forced, as England’s Alex Hales and Sam Billings, as well as Australia’s Pat Cummins, the Test captain, had declared their unavailability for the upcoming season. However, the franchise released players like Ajinkya Rahane, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson, and Aaron Finch in order to assemble a new squad with Chandrakant Pandit as their head coach.

All-rounder Shardul Thakur, wicketkeeper-bat Rahmanullah Girbaz, and fast bowler Lockie Fergusson were all traded in by Kolkata. According to former Indian batter Robin Uthappa, they require a wicketkeeper, preferably an Indian, a fast bowling backup for Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav, who frequently sustain injuries, and a cover for Andre Russell.

“KKR would be looking for three players in this auction – one would be an Indian backup wicketkeeper for Gurbaz. In case they want flexibility in playing both Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson, Gurbaz is the one who would have to sit out as they are not going to drop Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. The second player is a backup to Andre Russell. IPL is going back to its original format. So, it is not going to be just one or two venues. There will be a lot of travel. KKR is one such team that travels the most. Kolkata is really far away and they travel at least 2-3 thousand km more than all other teams. So, keeping those things in mind, you will have to have a backup just in case, Russell pulls up or he has not recovered due to back-to-back matches. Third would be an Indian fast bowler who would be a backup to Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav. They have a couple of youngsters in their group, but they would like to get somebody like Jaydev Unadkat,” Uthappa said on Jio Cinema.

They need an all-rounder to replace Dwayne Bravo: Robin Uthappa

The former batter also discussed Chennai and said that Sam Curran’s services would be sought after by the MS Dhoni-led team. Now that Chennai has let go of Dwayne Bravo, they have a spot vacant for a premier all-rounder.

“CSK, they need an all-rounder to replace Dwayne Bravo and they need a solid India middle-order batter as a backup for the players that they already have. In that, I think they will look for the likes of Sam Curran because he has already played for CSK in the past, he’s done well for them and has contributed to their success so they will definitely try and go for him. The second one would be an Indian batter in the middle order and the ones that are available in this auction seem to be like Manish Pandey, he has done exceptionally well in the IPL and is also someone who is experienced and would really enjoy playing in the CSK culture. These are the two players they will go for but in case they don’t get them – I am certain there are other options that they already have.”