“14 crores is a lot of money for any player”: Tom Moody questions Kane Williamson’s price tag as he is likely to be released by SRH ahead of IPL 2023 auction

The mini auction ahead of the 16th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year, will take place on December 23 and all the 10 franchises have put their thinking hats on to decided upon the players to be released and retained with the deadline for the same approaching soon.

All the franchises are expected to submit their retentions and released players list by 5pm on November 15 (Tuesday), and a few big names have already been traded off by the teams as per the latest reports.

However, the biggest news pertaining the same has come from the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) camp which has, as per reports, decided to let go or release their previous season skipper Kane Williamson from the squad.

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As per RevSportz the New Zealand skipper, who was retained by SHR for a whopping INR 14 Crore ahead of the mega auction this year in February, is perhaps either no longer a part of their plans moving forward, or is likely to be roped in at a lesser amount during the mini auction next month.

Tom Moody questions Kane Williamson’s price tag

Before the aforementioned news from the SRH camp surfaced, the franchise’s head coach until this year, Tom Moody, had expressed his disappointment with the Kiwi skipper’s batting returns in the previous few months.

During an interaction with ‘Star Sports’, Moody did acknowledge Williamson’s caliber and quality as a leader, but also felt that INR 14 Crore is way too much for any player.

“We know his quality as a leader. He’s a highly respected leader in the IPL and globally. So, it just depends on how much weight they put on that leadership. So, whether they release him or not. To me, 14 crores is a lot of money for any player,” Moody remarked.

SRH had finished at the 8th spot in the points table last season, with Williamson himself averaging mere 19.63 across 13 innings, at a strike rate of 93.50.

His poor strike rate (116.33) was a talking point during the whole of T20 World Cup 2022 as well, while his innings of 46 (42) was highly criticized post New Zealand’s loss versus Pakistan in the semi-final.