3 worst buys for Chennai in the mini auction for the upcoming Indian T20 League 2023

Four-time champions Chennai purchased seven players at the Indian T20 League 2023 mini-auction that was held in Kochi on December 23, 2022. The franchise went into the mini-auction with a purse of ₹20.45 crore. They have a total of seven slots available, with a maximum of two being for overseas players.

Chennai filled up all their slots at the auction and returned with a purse of ₹1.5 crores. Versatile England all-rounder and Test captain Ben Stokes was Chennai’s biggest purchase at the cash-rich League 2023 auction. He was picked up for ₹16.25 crore, thus making him the most expensive player signed by the franchise at the auction. Deepak Chahar (₹14 crores) held the previous record. Meanwhile, there were some players which might not get a chance to play for the franchise

1. Kyle Jamieson

Kyle Jamieson (Source - Twitter)

The four-time Indian T20 League champions have purchased the services of New Zealand international Kyle Jamieson for INR 1 crore at this auction. During the last season, Bangalore purchased the same player for a whopping price tag of INR 15 crore, and was also the most-talked-about player in the build-up to the Indian T20 League 2022 season.

Nevertheless, the New Zealand player failed to justify his price tag as he could score 65 runs in nine games. Apart from that, he took nine wickets to his name at an expensive economy of 9.60.

2. Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane (Source - Twitter)

Ajinkya Rahane was sold to Chennai for his base price of Rs 50 lakh at the 2023 auction in Kochi on Friday. Chennai were the only team that made the move for Rahane. Rahane finished with 133 runs from seven innings at an average of 19.00 and strike rate of 103.90 in the previous season and was released before the December mini-auction.

Rahane has previously played for Delhi, Rajasthan, Pune, and Mumbai. Rahane has been out of favor with the national selectors, having not played a Test match since January. He is currently leading Mumbai in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy.

3. Ajay Mandal

Ajay Mandal (Source - Twitter)

Chattisgarh all-rounder Ajay Mandal has been in terrific form in the ongoing domestic season. The 26-year-old has walked away with the Player of the Match in both of Chhattisgarh’s Ranji Trophy 2022-23 matches so far.

Mandal claimed 13 wickets (7/7 and 6/56) with his left-arm spin in the triumph over Puducherry. Against Services, he picked up eight wickets and smashed a brilliant 114