Former India and Rajasthan opening batsman Aakash Chopra believes that the Royal Challengers Bangalore won’t make any significant acquisitions at the upcoming Indian Premier League auction which will be held on Friday in Kochi.
Faf du Plessis will once again serve as the team’s captain as the former Proteas veteran, along with Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Harshal Patel, will work to win the first championship title for the franchise.
As Sam Curran, Cameron Green, and Ben Stokes are predicted to sweep in the big bucks on December 23, the emphasis will be on some outstanding all-rounders in the auction once more, as has always been the case, especially in the smaller auctions.
There are also rumours circulating that Bangalore will be looking to secure the services of an Indian batsman, who preferably bats in the middle order. Reports suggest that the Mike Hesson-coached side could go for former Punjab Kings skipper Mayank Agarwal in a move that will see Virat Kohli drop down to number three.
Also read 👉 ‘Pressure of captaincy is different and it was clearly visible in his batting’: Chawla on Agarwal
However, with a minuscule purse to play with, Narayanan Jagadeesan could emerge as the backup for the Challengers in the event that Agarwal turns out to be out of budget. Jagadeesan’s form in recent times also augurs well for the youngster.
Chopra advised RCB to strengthen their bowling unit, considering that Faf and company will play the majority of their games at their home stadium, Chinnaswamy, which has smaller dimensions than other stadiums that they played the majority of their games in during the last two years. The ex-cricketer believes that because RCB lacks the funds to hire Curran, they will not pursue him.
Additionally, he proposed that RCB might be in the search for a suitable alternative for top pacer Josh Hazlewood since he might depart the competition early due to the Ashes.
“They might want to go towards left-armers. They will not even think about Sam Curran, nor will they be able to afford him. It can be Reece Topley, Madushanka or Joshua Little. They might need a backup for Josh Hazlewood as well because this is the Ashes year. Some people might run away in between this year. It can be Paul van Meekeren as well,”
Chopra said, while speaking on his YouTube channel.
“If you talk about their spin department, you can see Adam Zampa or Adil Rashid as a backup for Wanindu Hasaranga. I will go towards Zampa, they can go whichever way they want. I rate Zampa a little higher. Daryl Mitchell is available.
They tend to have problems in the lower-middle order because they have to get the job done by Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik, so you feel you can get one or two more guys. I don’t see Wanindu Hasaranga as an all-rounder but a bowler, because he has not contributed much with the bat in the IPL.”
