Delhi franchise decide to release their most expensive player of last season ahead of 2023 mini-auction

The Delhi franchise failed to make it to the Top 4 in the recently concluded Indian T20 League and the team management has planned to release three of their players ahead of the mini-auction set to take place on December 16.

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Shardul Thakur, who was bought for a whopping 10.75 crore INR in the mega auction ahead of the 2022 edition of the league, is all set to be released with an idea to get him back for a lower price. Along with the allrounder, wicketkeeper KS Bharat and batter Mandeep Singh are also set to be released into the auction pool. 

According to a report from Cricbuzz, the Delhi-based team might release these three players into the auction and Thakur might head back to the Delhi camp for a lower price than the current price tag. Notably, Thakur had an average outing with the Delhi camp as the pacer picked up 15 wickets at an economy of around 10. 

Auction to take place in Bengaluru or Istanbul?

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The Indian cricket board is yet to decide on the final venue for the auction and it might well be Bengaluru or Istanbul, Turkey. However, few other reports claim that the board has also shortlisted New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai as the venues for the auction. 

It remains to see if the board will come up with an official statement on the same and clear the air over reports claiming Istanbul is in contention for venues for the auction. As it stands, all teams will have to submit their retention list by November 15 and there are no restrictions on the number of players who can be retained for the upcoming auction. 

Concerning the trade window, it opened right after the conclusion of the 2022 Indian T20 League and none of the teams have come forward to make use of the window so far. All said and done, the Indian T20 League 2023 mini-auction will have a salary cap of 95 crores instead of 90 crores and the teams will look to make full use of the opportunity. 

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