IPL 2023 Auction: Franchises have reserved a large amount for him – Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma on Sikandar Raza

Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma reckons the IPL franchises have reserved a large amount for Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza. Raza had a great T20 World Cup 2022 for Zimbabwe as he scored 219 runs in eight matches at an average of 27.38 and a blistering strike rate of 147.97.

Furthermore, the mystery spinner took 10 wickets in eight matches of the tournament at an average of 15.60. Thus, Raza could be on the radar of all the 10 franchises in the upcoming IPL 2023 auction. Raza has set his base price at INR 50 lakhs and he is expected to bag a good deal at the auction.

The Zimbabwean has the skills to deliver with both bat and ball and he will be in demand in the auctions.

“Sikandar Raza is a great prospect. Not just RCB, but the other teams would also want to go after him. He has a lot of variations up his sleeve when it comes to his bowling. He has won Zimbabwe a lot of matches single-handedly and is a very good package. I am sure all the franchises have reserved a large amount for him,” Raza said in a conversation with India News.

Meanwhile, Raza has been in top form in the ongoing season. The right-hander scored three consecutive centuries in run-chases in ODI cricket against Bangladesh and India.

On the other hand, Rajkumar Sharma believes Royal Challengers Bangalore needs a specialist T20 bowler but they only have INR 8.75 crores left in their purse.

“RCB do not have a lot of funds. They will target one or two base players who they can get at their base price. Bowling has always been a big concern for them. They need a T20 specialist bowler in their team. They would want to use a large chunk of their money for a star bowler who can bowl at the death.”

“Adil Rashid is a very underrated bowler. He has performed admirably in white-ball cricket. I haven’t seen him go for a lot of runs. A lot of teams will be tempted to go after him. However, I don’t think RCB will bid for him, given that they already have Wanindu Hasaranga.”

IPL 2023 auction will take place in Kochi on Friday.