IPL 2023 Mini-Auction: Josh Little, Sikandar Raza & David Wiese reap rich rewards for hard work

IPL 2023 Mini-Auction: Josh Little from Ireland, Sikandar Raza from Zimbabwe and David Wiese from Namibia find buyer in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 auction.

Jos Little was sold to Gujarat Titans in auction (Source: ©AFP/Getty Images)

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the most popular cricket tournaments in the world. In total, 80 players were sold in the IPL 2023 mini-auctions - 29 of which were overseas players. These 80 players have the platform set for their performance.

Some big names like Rassie van der Dussen, Dawid Malan, Tabraiz Shamsi and Dasun Shanaka went unsold. Shanaka is the captain of Sri Lanka and is a good all-rounder. Van der Dussen is a part of South Africa’s playing 11, while Shamsi and Malan are quality players and were part of the top 10 ICC rankings. However, they could not make it to the world’s best domestic T20 league.

While it was a disheartening result for 325 players who went unsold in the auction. But some talented players from associate nations have got the recognition they deserved. This article is about Josh Little, Sikandar Raza and David Wiese - three players who have made it big through their hard work, performance and skills.

Seeing players of the associate nations getting recognised assures the growth of cricket.

Read More: IPL 2023 Mini-Auction: GT, LSG firm favourites with strong & well-balanced squads

Josh Little joins Gujarat Titans and becomes first Irish player to play IPL

Joshua Little, an Irish left arm-pacer, has been signed by Gujarat Titans (GT) for INR 4.4 Crores during the IPL 2023 auction. There was a bidding war between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and GT for Little. Hence, he was bought for gradually more than his base price.

Little has served as a net bowler for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). He had a great year and a successful T20 World Cup 2022. He picked up a hat-trick in the world cup and was lethal with the new ball and also in the death overs. Here are some stats that define how good Little is in T20s.

Format	Mat	Inns	Wkts	BBI	Avg	Eco	SR
T20	83	82	105	5/13	20.46	7.34	16.7

Joshua Little can offer a lot to Gujarat Titans. GT have traded Lockie Ferguson, so Little can be a good replacement for him. He has good pace and bowls with the new ball. Being a left-armer, he has a natural angle and has the ability to bring the ball in for the right-handers.

Even he can be used in the death overs. We have seen him bowling accurate yorkers and some decent bouncers. Overall, he is a complete bowler and can do well under Hardik Pandya and Ashish Nehra.

Read More: Bargain buys at IPL 2023 mini-auction: Williamson & Rashid offer great value to GT & SRH

Sikandar Raza was sold to PBKS for INR 50 lakhs (Source: ©Sportsfile/Getty Images)

Sikandar Raza joins Punjab Kings at base price of INR 50 lakhs

Punjab Kings have picked up Sikandar Raza in the IPL 2023 mini-auction. Raza has played all over the globe in the last few seasons.

Zimbabwe's all-rounder has been part of different leagues around the world, including the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Lanka Premier League (LPL).

Now, at the age of 36, Raza is all set to take part in the best T20 league in the world, the Indian Premier League.

The all-rounder has played 158 T20s in his career and is a perfect fit for the team. He will add firepower to their line-up and also can bowl a decent 4 overs.

Raza has bowled along with Sunil Narine for Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in CPL. The Zimbabwe all-rounder has learned a lot from the West Indies legend and as a result has developed a number of variations in his bowling. We all have seen him doing well at the international level. He can bring diversification to the Punjab Kings.

Here are Raza’s T20 stats that define how good an allrounder he is.

T20	Mat	Inns	Runs	Wkts	BBF	HS	Avg	Eco	SR
Bowling	158	118	-	79	4/8	-	29.18	7.34	23.8
Batting	158	147	3109	-	-	95	20.98	-	128.9

Read More: IPL 2023 Mini-Auction: Curran, Green, Stokes, Pooran top bids; GT, LSG, SRH look settled on paper

Wiese was sold to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in auction (Source: ©Getty Images)

David Wiese bags contract with KKR

David Wiese, the 37-year-old all-rounder from Namibia, has become the first ever representative of his country to bag an IPL contract; although he has earlier represented Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on a South African passport. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) reached an agreement with Wiese on a deal worth INR 1 crore.

Wiese has had a varied career, playing for both South Africa and Namibia and now joining the IPL this season. He represented SA from 2013 to 2016. The first match he played for Namibia was in 2021.

In this year's T20 World Cup, Wiese was the x-factor for Namibia. He almost made Namibia cross the line in the qualifiers. The result didn’t go as per his desires but the world came to know about his potential.

Wiese played for RCB in the 2015 IPL edition. He played 14 games in that season and got just one game in the following year. In 15 IPL matches so far, the all-rounder has scored 127 runs and taken 16 wickets. This year he is not a South African player but will represent Namibia.

KKR look to have a stable core of overseas players. Probably, David may not get a chance to play in the presence of Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Gurbaz and Lockie Ferguson. Besides, Russell is quite prone to injuries. So, if Russell sustains an injury or KKR want to manage his workload, Wiese can be a like-for-like replacement for the West Indies all-rounder as regards the range of skills he offers.

Final Words

The fact that players from associate nations are now part of the richest cricket league shows that this sport has no boundaries. Thanks to their dedication, hard work and talent, these players have broken new ground for their countries as well as for themselves.

The stories of Little, Weise and Raza will be an inspiration for other players. This is not only the growth of individual players or teams but the growth of cricket itself.

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