IPL 2023: 3 Players who have pulled out of auction
All the 10 participating franchises have made their retentions and releases well in advance of the IPL 2023 auction that will be held in Kochi on December 23. Meanwhile, many players who are not in the proceedings have also expressed their interest by registering for the auction with England Test specialist Joe Root being one of them.
However, there are a few players who have decided not to take part in the next year’s marquee tournament due to national commitments and other reasons. Without further ado, here’s a look at three of those seasoned campaigners.
- Sam Billings:
England batter Sam Billings was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders who he had represented last season. Billings’ performances were not up to the mark as he could only manage to score 169 runs from eight matches averaging 24.14 and a strike rate of 122.46 with his highest individual score being 36. Meanwhile, the Englishman made it clear that he has decided to back out from the next month’s IPL 2023 auction and asked the franchise not to retain him. Billings took to his official Twitter handle to confirm the same and mentioned that this tough decision has been taken by him in order to focus on red-ball cricket as he gears up to represent Kent in the County Championship.
2. Pat Cummins:
Australia’s Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins also announced that he will not be participating in the IPL 2023 due to national commitments that include the Ashes series in June-July next year and the ODI World Cup in India in October-November. Just like Billings, Cummins also confirmed the news on his official Twitter handle and thanked KKR for giving him opportunities in the last couple of seasons. Despite being bought at a staggering INR 7.25 crore, Cummins could not showcase consistent performances with either bat or ball in IPL 2022.
- Mitchell Starc:
Mitchell Starc has once again informed that he is not interested in playing the IPL and has withdrawn from registering his name for the cash-rich tournament well in advance. It does not come as a surprise in any manner as the Australian pace spearhead has refrained from playing the Indian Premier League or any other franchise cricket including the Big Bash League (BBL) for almost a decade in order to keep himself fit and prepared for Australia’s international assignments. Starc has not played in the IPL since the 2015 edition and since then has been regularly withdrawing his name at the last minute. While he might have lost out on millions in all these years, Mitchell Starc has been giving weightage to national pride over money.
