Rajasthan Royals Could Buy Mitchell Starc In IPL 2021 Auction To Provide Support Jofra Archer - Aakash Chopra

Former India batsman, Aakash Chopra feels that Rajasthan Royals should definitely buy some high-quality fast bowlers in the upcoming IPL 2021 auction that will give support help Jofra Archer from the other end. The auction for the 14th edition of the cash-rich league is slated for 18th February in Chennai.

Rajasthan Royals have released 8 players, of which Oshane Thomas and Tom Curran are the overseas pacers while Varun Aaron and Ankit Rajpoot are the Indian pacers who played last season. Andrew Tye is the only other overseas pacer in their squad. Also, the Jaipur-based franchise has let go of their skipper, Steve Smith, and has named Kerala’s Sanju Samson as the new captain.

Aakash Chopra points out that last year, the Royals’ pace bowling was heavily dependent on Jofra Archer – that Archer won the Man of the Tournament award despite his team finishing last on the points table speaks of the one-man pace attack Rajasthan had. The English speedster picked 20 wickets at an economy of 6.55 taking a wicket every 16.7 deliveries.

In his YouTube video, Aakash Chopra said, “This team’s biggest problem is that it has been a one-man bowling army. Jofra Archer on one side and the rest of the team on the other. This has been the impact of Jofra and also the lack of effectiveness of the remaining bowlers. They will have to address this, they have the money and will have to buy a big overseas fast bowler.”

Rajasthan Royals can bid 15-18 crores for Starc: Aakash Chopra

Rajasthan Royals have more than 34 crores remaining in their purse after releasing their players- Robin Uthappa has also been traded to Chennai Super Kings. Aakash Chopra opines that the inaugural champions won’t mind spending about half of their purse on Mitchell Starc as the Aussie pacer is one of the deadliest bowlers in white-ball cricket. The left-arm pacer has played a couple of seasons for Royal Challengers Banglore but hasn’t featured in the IPL since 2015.

The 43-year-old also observes that bowling all-rounders such as Kyle Jamieson and Nathan Coulter-Nile would be handy as they provide some batting depth as well. Aakash Chopra reckons senior India seamer Umesh Yadav, who has been offloaded by Royal Challengers Bangalore is a healthy alternative as well for the Royals.

“If Mitchell Starc comes at the auction, everyone is looking towards him but this team has a lot of money. If they want to put all their eggs in one basket, they can bid 15-18 crores for him and money will still be left,” the former opener added.

“They could also think of Kyle Jamieson because they like players who do two tasks. Nathan Coulter-Nile could be another option whom they could think about. Jhye Richardson will also be available. They could look towards him also. They have left all Indian fast bowlers. So maybe Umesh Yadav as they will need one Indian fast bowler,” Aakash Chopra further stated.

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