Here's what Hardik Pandya said when asked about Kane Williamson's chance in IPL auction 2023

The preparation for the next edition of the Indian Premier League is in full swing, with all ten franchises gearing up for the upcoming auction next month. The BCCI has scheduled the auction for December 23 in Kochi.

However, the last date to submit the list of retained and released players was November 15, and all teams have revealed the list of players they want to retain and release. There have been some big names that were not retained by their respective franchises.

One such name was the Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson, who led Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL for the last few seasons. SRH has released him ahead of the auction, which came as a surprise to many because they retained Williamson last season and released David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, and Jason Holder.

However, it means that the former SRH skipper will be under the hammer in the upcoming auction. Now the question is whether he will get any buyers or not. Notably, Williamson has seen some decline in his batting form in recent times. Especially, his numbers are not up to par, and he also struggled in the T20 World Cup 2022.

India is currently on a white-ball tour to New Zealand for three T20Is and three ODIs, starting on November 18. India has given rest to its senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul. For T20Is, Hardik Pandya will be the captain, while Shikhar Dhawan will lead the side in ODIs.

Ahead of the first T20Is, the Indian captain, Hardik Pandya, was asked about Williamson going into the auction or whether any team would pick him or not. To that, Hardik answered that currently he is playing for India and that when the IPL comes, then we will see. He was also asked whether his IPL team, the Gujarat Titans, would bid on Williamson.

He said, "For him, because he is a friend, yes. Rest it is okay. IPL is IPL, right now I am playing for India.  "Don't know, too far ahead to think about it now."

On the other hand, India has sent its new-look team to New Zealand. After suffering a crushing defeat in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England, Team India faced widespread criticism. Former English skipper Michael Vaughan also said that India is underperforming in white-ball format and hasn't done anything since its 2013 Champions Trophy win.

When asked about Vaughan's statement, Hardik said, "I understand people are coming with different points of view. But being at the international level, I do not think we need to prove anything to anyone. It is a sport, you keep trying and you keep getting better. When the result is supposed to happen, it will happen."

The Indian T20I captain also spoke about the next T20 World Cup in 2024. He said that there is a time of almost two years, and that is enough to make plans and work on them, but at the moment we want the players to use the opportunity and perform.