It is that time of the year when cricketers from around the world wait with bathed breath as their names come up at the Indian Premier League auction.
Friday's mini players' auction for IPL 2023 could be a life-changing moment for some cricketers with all 10 franchises looking to bolster their teams with quality names.
Australia's Cameron Green and England duo Ben Stokes and Sam Curran are expected to fetch the highest bids.
Harish Kotian picks to cricketers who will likely make waves at the IPL 2023 auction in Kochi.
Cameron Green
The Australian sensation is expected to hit the jackpot at the IPL auction.
Though he has just played eight T20 Internationals for Australia, the 6' 6" all-rounder caught everyone's attention with his smashing performances in the T20I series in India in September, with quickfire knocks of 60 from 31 balls and 52 from 21 balls as opener.
He is also quite capable as a fast bowler, putting him on top of the wishlist of mostly every franchise.
Sam Curran
Sam played a key role in England's T20 World Cup triumph with 13 wickets at an economy rate of 6.52.
His 13 wickets was instrumental in CSK winning the IPL title in 2021, but he missed this year's tournament because of injury.
Sam can also contribute with the bat, with a strike rate of 135 in T20 cricket, and is likely to be picked by CSK, who may go all out to get him back.
Ben Stokes
England's Test captain pulled out of IPL 2021 after just one game because of injury and then pulled out of IPL 2022 to manage his workload.
Stokesy has a good overall record in IPL with 920 runs from 43 games at a strike rate of 134, including two centuries and two fifties; he has also picked up 28 wickets.
Will the Rajasthan Royals pick him up again?
Rilee Rossouw
The South African left-hander last played in the IPL in 2015, for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
He smashed a blistering 100 not out off 48 balls against India in the third T20 International in Indore in October and then blasted 109 from 56 balls against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup.
Rossouw boasts an impressive strike rate of 143, for a tally of 6,930 runs in 272 T20 matches.
Harry Brook
Ben Stokes thinks the young Englishman could be an impact player like Virat Kohli. Brooks smashed 468 runs in the three Tests against Pakistan, hitting three centuries and a fifty at a strike rate of 93.
Even though he didn't score too many runs in the T20 World Cup, he boasts of a good record in T20 cricket with 2,432 runs in 99 matches at a strike rate of 148, with a tally of 102 sixes.
Nicholas Pooran
Pooran had a good run in IPL 2022, scoring 306 runs at a strike rate of 144, but Sunrisers Hyderabad released the West Indian after hiring him for Rs 10.75 crore at the February 2022 auction.
Even though he didn't make many runs in the T20 World Cup, he has been in good form in the Abu Dhabi T10, hitting 345 runs at a strike rate of 234.
Overall, he enjoys a good record in the IPL with 912 runs from 47 matches at a strike rate of 151, and could be set for another windfall at the auction.
Mayank Agarwal
Appointed as Punjab Kings captain for IPL 2022, Agarwal struggled with the bat while his team failed to make the play-offs.
Punjab released him a few months after IPL 2022 ended and the right-hander may be quite high on the radar of a few teams, who need a good opener in IPL 2023.
Agarwal enjoys a good record in the IPL, with 400-plus runs in the 2020 and 2021 seasons, for an overall record of 2,327 runs in 113 games at a strike rate of 134.
Adil Rashid
England's senior spinner could be in demand from teams like the Mumbai Indians who missed signing a quality spinner at the February auction.
Rashid was excellent with his control in the T20 World Cup, conceding runs at 6.12 even though he took just four wickets from six games.
He saved his best for the last, taking 1/20 against India in the semis and 2/22 against Pakistan in the final.
Narayan Jagadeesan
Tamil Nadu's Jagadeesan could be the top pick among Indian uncapped players.
Released by CSK last month, he smashed a record five centuries in a row in the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament including a world record 277 from 141 balls against Arunachal Pradesh.
The wicket-keeper-opener has continued that form into the Ranji Trophy smashing 116 from 97 balls and a 22-ball 59 not out in the opening match against Hyderabad to further up his stakes ahead of the auction.
It won't be a surprise if he goes for much more than his base price of Rs 20 lakh.
Sikandar Raza
Zimbabwe's spin all-rounder could be an useful addition to any IPL team with his ability to contribute with both bat and ball.
Raza hit back to back centuries against Bangladesh to guide Zimbabwe to a 2-1 ODI series win, while he smashed 115 from 95 balls against India in an ODI in Harare in August.
He played a couple of good knocks in the T20 World Cup to finish with 219 runs at a strike rate of 147, while taking 10 wickets at an economy rate of 6.50.
Mumbai Indians, who are weak in the spin department, could be interested in signing up Raza.
