IPL 2023: Prior to the 2023 season’s auction, which is scheduled for December 23 in Kochi, Kolkata Knight Riders have acquired New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson and Afghanistan wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz via swaps from IPL champions Gujarat Titans. The IPL or the franchisees have not released any information about this all-cash transaction. As the IPL 2023 auction’s site and date have been determined, franchises have only a little time left to submit their list of retained players. The two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders must take numerous considerations into account before releasing some of the players.
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At the mega auction, Titans paid 10 crores for Ferguson, who played for the team in 13 games and claimed 12 wickets. The two-time IPL champion Knight Riders were the previous team the Kiwi international played for from 2017 to 2021. In contrast, Gurbaz was added to the squad to replace England batsman Jason Roy. The youthful wicketkeeper-batter, though, didn’t appear in any of the games during the previous season.
Ferguson also bowled the fastest ball of the 2022 IPL season to Jos Buttler in the final, clocked at 157.3kph. He picked up seven wickets in five games during New Zealand’s T20 World Cup campaign in Australia, where they lost in the semi-finals to Pakistan.
Gurbaz from Afghanistan has been added, giving KKR more alternatives in terms of wicketkeeping. They had trouble with it in the IPL 2022, as neither Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson, nor B Indrajith was able to secure their spots in the starting XI. Prior to being signed by Titans as a substitute for England’s Jason Roy, Gurbaz, who had first advertised himself at a basic price of INR 50 lakh, went unpurchased initially. Gurbaz sat out the entire 2022 season as the Titans occasionally preferred the skills of Matthew Wade and Wriddhiman Saha above his inexperience.
On Friday, Royal Challengers Bangalore traded Australian fast bowler Jason Behrendorff to Mumbai Indians. They signed Behrendorff at his base price of Rs 75 lakhs but did not feature him in any game this season.
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In preparation for the upcoming mini-auction, two-time IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are apparently keen to offload Aaron Finch. According to a report in Rev Sports, the team is looking to sign Alex Hales from England as a replacement. Earlier KKR brought in Aaron Finch to replace Alex Hales. The starting position was given to the right-handed batsman to take advantage of the limitations of the field. However, Finch did not make it all of his chances. Finch added 86 runs in five matches at an average of 17.20.
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