3 all-rounders who can emerge as next Hardik Pandya in IPL 2023 auction

When Hardik Pandya was picked up by the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2015 auction for just INR 10 lakh, no one could have predicted that he would end up being such a key player for the five-time champions. They groomed Hardik into an incredible all-rounder and he has gone on to become a crucial part of the current Indian team.

The IPL has proved to be a breeding ground for a number of such potentially world-class youngsters, but India still haven't quite found an ideal backup for Hardik Pandya. While there are certainly some all-rounders among the retained players, there are also some potential gems in the auction waiting to be picked up by any of the 10 teams.

On that note, let's take a look at three such seam bowling all-rounders in the IPL 2023 auction, who if groomed properly, can have an impact close to what Hardik Pandya has had:

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#3 Manoj Bhandage

Karnataka has produced some really talented cricketers in the past few years and one of them is up-and-coming seam-bowling all-rounder Manoj Bhandage.

The 24-year-old has played just 15 T20s in which he has picked up eight wickets. However, his batting exploits may have caught the eye of scouts as he has a career strike rate of 154.66 in the shortest format.

While chasing down a massive target of 226 runs against Punjab in the quarterfinals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2022, Bhandage smashed 25 runs off just nine balls and almost took his team over the line. If his hard-hitting potential can be used properly by the franchises, Bhandage could certainly have a breakthrough IPL 2023 season and could be the next big seam-bowling all-rounder after Hardik Pandya.

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#2 Atit Sheth

It's almost inexplicable how Baroda's fast-bowling all-rounder Atit Sheth hasn't played a single IPL game to date. The 26-year-old has picked up 88 wickets in 26 first-class games and has also scored almost a thousand runs, with two hundreds and six half-centuries to his name.

Sheth recently got the call-up to India A tour of Bangladesh and this might surely have alerted a lot of teams looking for Indian fast-bowling all-rounders. Hailed by current Baroda captain Ambati Rayudu as a future star, it wouldn't be a surprise if Sheth is snapped up by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

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#1 Prerak Mankad

Quite a few eyebrows were raised when the Punjab Kings decided to let go of Saurashtra all-rounder Prerak Mankad ahead of the IPL 2023 auction.

Mankad has a strike rate of 142.6 from 42 T20s and has also picked up 22 wickets with his medium pace. He was vital for Saurashtra with both the bat and the ball in their incredible maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy win.

A proven performer in domestic cricket with enough experience under his belt, Mankad is likely to be pretty high on the wishlist of teams looking for a seam-bowling all-rounder like Hardik Pandya.