IPL 2024: Ahead of the mini auction, the Lucknow Super Giants exchange Avesh Khan for Devdutt Padikkal.

With one month to go before the big day, all 10 franchises are releasing and trading players in preparation for the IPL 2024 auction. Ahead of the upcoming season, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) also jumped on board, with fast bowler Avesh Khan scheduled to join Rajasthan in return for top-order batsman Devdutt Padikkal.

The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) will soon approve the transaction after the players and the teams have approved it. Notably, LSG paid INR 10 crore for Avesh in the mega auction of 2022, while RR paid INR 7.75 crore for Paddikal. Despite not having a great season, both players’ teams kept them for the 2023 season.

Padikkal has amassed 637 runs at an average of 23.59 and a strike rate of 125.88 in 28 games since the start of the 2022 season, with just three half-centuries. The 23-year-old has participated in 57 IPL matches and amassed 1521 runs at an average of 26.10 and a strike rate of 125.39, with nine fifty-score innings under his belt.

However, Avesh had a fantastic season for the Delhi Capitals in 2021, taking 24 wickets at an average of 18.75, good for second place in the competition. After joining LSG in the 2022 season, he finished with 18 wickets from 13 games and was the team’s leading wicket-taker.

He was unable to duplicate his 2023 season-long success, though, as he was only able to claim eight wickets at an economy of 9.75 and an average of 35.37 out of nine matches. The 27-year-old, who will be joining other Indian pacers like Prasidh Krishna, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Sandeem Sharma, and KM Asif in Rajasthan for the next season, would be keen to turn things around.

Lucknow Super Giants earlier dealt Romario Shepherd to the Mumbai Indians.

This is only the second trade before the 2019 Indian Premier League season, as Lucknow Super Giants traded Romario Shepherd to the Mumbai Indians earlier this month. Interestingly, the deadline for all ten teams to release their roster of retentions is November 26. This is in advance of the December 19 auction that will take place in Dubai.