It was an eventful Friday in Kochi, where owners of all 10 IPL franchises gathered under one roof for the much anticipated IPL 2023 mini-auction. Of the original list of 991 players, a total of 405 players made the final cut, with 273 Indians and 132 overseas players. From bargain buys to surprise picks, there was no dearth of drama as the hammer sealed the faith of players, one by one. With 9 available spots and a comparatively lighter purse of INR 13.20 crores, there was plenty of curiosity among fans around Rajasthan Royals’ strategy going into the auction.

And the inaugural IPL champions didn’t disappoint, getting into the act as soon as the second name of the day was called out by auctioneer Hugh Edmeades - that of 23-year-old English batter Harry Brook. The Royals, eager to add another explosive Englishman to their squad, entered the bid alongside Royal Challengers Bangalore, who also seemed interested initially. But RCB soon bowed out, and in came Sunrisers Hyderabad with a hefty sum in their pockets. An intense bidding battle saw both franchises literally break the bank for Brook. And even though SRH ultimately ended up buying him, the aggressive approach shown by the Royals think tank made everyone sit up and take notice.

Their intent was the same when it came to Sam Curran, the English all-rounder who was in high demand across franchises as soon as he entered the bidding. Punjab Kings bought him for a record price of INR 18.50 crore, but once again, the Royals stole the show with their ‘go big or go home’ style of bidding.

Jason Holder was the next big name on the Royals’ wish list. This time, they were faced with some competition from Chennai Super Kings, who made the opening bid for him at INR 2 crore. But at INR 5.75 crore, the big West Indian joined his second T20 team in the Royals family.

Here’s what our CEO Jake Lush McCrum and Zubin Bharucha (Strategy, Development and Performance Director) had to say about their strategy:

Hard-hitting West Indian batter Nicholas Pooran garnered much interest from as many as four franchises, with the Royals also entering the bid at the start. But with the remaining teams outbidding one another, and the Royals crossing their purse limit, Pooran went for a whopping amount of INR 16 crore to Lucknow Super Giants.

While the Royals management were busy putting their tactical minds to work in Kochi, the Super Royals and a few lucky fans assembled in Jaipur to experience the thrill of a live auction. From celebrating Jason Holder’s steal deal to praying for Ben Stokes’ return, emotions ran high across the room as the day progressed. Our home city had come alive!

As opposed to the other teams, the Royals went into the 45-minute lunch break having bought just the solitary player in Holder. But it was during the accelerated round that they literally accelerated, throwing in a subtle reminder of their ‘4 minutes, 4 buys’ strategy in the 2022 mega auction - where they bought four overseas players in rapid succession towards the end.

Their first purchase after the lunch break was Donovan Ferreira for INR 50 lakh, a talented wicketkeeper-batter from South Africa who is also set to play in the upcoming inaugural edition of SA20.

Nurturing young local talent has always been one of the key focus areas for the Royals in the IPL. So it was hardly a surprise to see the management go for relatively unknown but promising names. One of them was 20-year-old local boy Kunal Rathore, who has been on the franchise’s radar for sometime and recently made his first-class debut for Rajasthan. Kerala pacer KM Asif, all-rounder Abdul PA, and Himachal’s Akash Vashisth were quickly lapped up by the Royals to form a core group of budding players in the camp.

One of the biggest surprises of the night arrived in the form of Australian leg-spinner, Adam Zampa, who the Royals brought home for INR 1.5 crore. And with Murugan Ashwin too joining the squad, the spin quintet at Rajasthan Royals was now complete. But the Royals weren’t done just yet. There was another surprise in store, as some teams with a few available slots progressed to the third and final round of the accelerated auction. Former England skipper Joe Root finally broke the jinx and made his way to his first-ever IPL franchise - Rajasthan Royals!

With all 9 slots filled, there were quite a few happy faces in the Royals camp as the mini-auction concluded. In Holder, they have found a strong contender to fill the much awaited proper all-rounder’s slot, while Ashwin and Zampa’s addition has boosted the spin unit even further. As far as the batting goes, Root’s arrival has only created a ‘problem of plenty’ in an already fiery line-up. As always, the franchise has kept their vision of transforming society through cricket at the top of their list by picking raw talent and giving them a life-changing opportunity on the grand stage of IPL.

Who was your pick of the day from the Royals squad? Share your thoughts with us on Twitter at @rajasthanroyals or with me @arey_yaar