IPL 2023: 5 franchises that might pick Shardul Thakur at auction

Shardul Thakur is one of the rare breeds of seam-bowling all-rounders in the Indian circuit. He is a wily bowler having a knack for providing regular breakthroughs and also possesses the ability to score vital runs for his side. The 31-year-old has proven his mettle in the Indian Premier League and also in the international arena. Shardul has bagged 82 wickets in 75 IPL games at an economy of 9.06 and scored 173 runs at a strike rate of 129.10. Coming to his contributions for India in the shortest format, he has picked 33 scalps in 25 games and smashed 69 runs at a strike rate of 181.57. Shardul’s all-round prowess makes him one of the sought-after players in the IPL. It is quite evident from the fact that franchises went into a bidding war to sign him at the 2022 mega auction. It was eventually Delhi Capitals who grabbed him for INR 10.75 CR. However, it has been reported that DC are planning to release the bowling all-rounder ahead of the 2023 IPL auction. If the speculations are to be considered, the Palghar-born will likely feature in the forthcoming auction. Let us look at the franchises that might look to add him to their arsenal. Here are the five franchises that could pick Shardul Thakur at the auction: 5. Delhi Capitals Shardul is an experienced campaigner in the T20 circuit having played 139 games in the shortest format. He has done a fantastic job in those outings bagging 162 wickets at an economy of 8.69 and also scoring 303 runs at a strike rate of 121.68. Delhi Capitals roped the bowling all-rounder in to add depth to the side. Shardul was amongst the wickets and took 15 scalps in 14 games for his new franchise but conceded runs at an economy of 9.79. On the batting front, he fared well smashing 120 runs at a strike rate of 137.83. Shardul might not have done justice to his price tag but delivered a decent performance throughout the season. Also, he was the most experienced Indian seamer in their bowling set up. Thus, one can expect DC to try and pick the veteran cricketer at a price lower than his earlier sum. 4. Chennai Super Kings Shardul was picked by the Chennai Super Kings in 2018 and was associated with them till 2021. During this tenure, he was an important member of the Chennai set-up and played an integral role in their title-winning campaign in the year 2018 and 2021. In 2018, Shardul featured in 13 games and bagged 16 wickets at an economy of 9.23. Also, he played a crucial cameo of 15 runs in five deliveries in the First Qualifier against Sunrisers Hyderabad to get his team across the line. Talking about the 2021 season, the 31-year-old took 21 wickets in 16 games at an economy of 8.80 which also included a match-winning three-wicket haul in the finals. Shardul has been a proven performer for the four-time IPL champions and given how big CSK are on player loyalty, it should not be a surprise if they go all guns blazing at the upcoming auction to sign the right-arm pacer. Moreover, MS Dhoni likes to have many all-round options at his disposal when his side takes the field. Thus, one might witness the Palghar-born returning to his old franchise. 3. Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata Knight Riders had a pretty mediocre showing in the 2022 season of the IPL. They could manage just six wins out of 14 games and finished the league in the seventh position. One of the reasons for their poor campaign was the lack of top-quality Indian pacers. KKR put a lot of faith in Shivam Mavi and re-signed him for a whooping sum of INR 7.25 CR at the 2022 mega auction. However, Mavi failed to deliver the goods and had a horrid season with the ball. He featured in six games and picked five wickets leaking runs at an alarming rate of 10.32. Kolkata also tried Harshit Rana and Rasikh Dar to partner Umesh Yadav on the bowling front but the duo failed to set the stage on fire. Therefore, KKR could look at an international quality seamer like Shardul to provide the much-needed experience in the pace attack and might go after him at the forthcoming auction. 2. Punjab Kings Punjab Kings signed Odean Smith for the 15th edition of the IPL to bring balance to the side. However, the ace all-rounder was not able to impress with his outings. The 26-year-old could manage mere 51 runs in six games at a strike rate of 115.91 and conceded runs at an alarming rate of 11.87. PBKS then tried Rishi Dhawan for the all-rounder role. Rishi was decent with the ball picking six wickets in as many games at an economy of 8.21 but was quite mediocre on the batting front striking at just 92.50. With Odean and the Indian all-rounder failing to perform as per expectations, the Punjab franchise struggled to find the right team composition for the entire season. Therefore, the Punjab franchise could go fishing for an all-rounder at the upcoming auction, and an Indian all-rounder of Shardul’s caliber could be a very tempting option. Moreover, PBKS went hammer and tongs for the Palghar-born at the 2022 IPL auction and bid for him till INR 10.5 CR. However, they lost the bidding battle to Delhi at that time. Shikhar Dhawan & co. would look to stand tall this time around and might pursue the Indian cricketer at the upcoming auction. 1. Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians invested heavily in Ishan Kishan (15.25 CR), Tim David (8.25 CR), and Jofra Archer (8 CR) at the previous mega auction. In a bid to sign the trio, Mumbai exhausted their purse and could not sign top-drawer all-rounders. As a result, they struggled to find the right balance for their side throughout their campaign. The five-time IPL champions did have Daniel Sams to fulfill the seam-bowling all-rounder role. Though Sams did a good job with the ball picking up 13 scalps in 11 games at an economy of 8.81, he had a horror show with the bat as he could score mere 38 runs at a strike rate of 105.56. Further, Mumbai struggled to find an Indian seamer who could partner Jasprit Bumrah with the ball. They tried Jaydev Unadkat and Basil Thampi for that role but the duo was not able to deliver the goods. Shardul could be the answer to Mumbai's woes. He could form a formidable pair with Bumrah and can play crucial cameos slotting in at lower down the order. Therefore, MI could rope in the Indian all-rounder at the forthcoming auction.

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IPL 2023: 5 franchises that might pick Shardul Thakur at auction

Shardul Thakur's all-round prowess makes him one of the sought-after players in the IPL.

3. Kolkata Knight Riders

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