Hyderabad Franchise to release three overseas players ahead of Indian T20 League mini auction in December

Hyderabad Franchise (Source: Twitter)

The Indian T20 League mini-auction for the 2023 edition is all set to be held in Kochi on 23^rd December. The ten franchises need to submit their list of retained players by November 15. The salary cap for the auction is also expected to increase from INR 90 crore to INR 95 crore for the upcoming edition. The winners of the 2016 edition, the Hyderabad franchise, will also be making several changes to their squad heading into the upcoming auction.

According to reports, Hyderabad has decided to keep Aiden Markram amidst transfer offers. Reportedly, two franchises showed interest in signing Markram through the trading window. But Hyderabad owners denied the offer after consulting their head coach Brian Lara. The South African star was in stunning form in the 2022 edition where he plundered 381 runs in 14 innings at an average of 47.63.

However, the franchise has decided to release three costliest buys from their camp. First, the Windies’ star batter Nicholas Pooran, who was bought for INR 10.75 crore in the 2022 mega-auction. Second, fast bowling all-rounder Romario Shepherd, signed up for INR 7.75 crore. And third, Australian all-rounder Sean Abbott who was roped in for INR 2.4 crore.

Pooran failed to perform with the bat in the 2022 20-20 World Cup, having just 25 runs to his name in 3 matches. Hyderabad are planning to release him ahead of the mini-auction and will try to get him back in the bidding process at a low price.

Meanwhile, Shepherd put up a below-par performance in Indian T20 League 2022. In three matches, he could pick up only three wickets and gave away runs at an expensive economy rate of 10.89. On the other hand, Abbot who is famous for delivering all-round performances in the Big Bash League (BBL), has had fitness issues over the past few years. He missed several international games for Australia and many matches for his club Sydney Sixers in the BBL.

Heading into the auction, Hyderabad have Markram, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Marco Jansen and Fazalhaq Farooqi as other foreign players in their squad, and they will retain them.