No Indian Player In The Rajasthan Royals Is Worth The Retention Money - Aakash Chopra

Former India opener, Aakash Chopra has opined that the Rajasthan Royals should not use the retention money on any Indian players if there is a mega auction. In the previous meg auction – three seasons ago – the retention salary for the first three picks was INR 15 crores, 11 crores, and 7 crores.

The Rajasthan Royals finished at the bottom of the points table in IPL 2020. The Steve Smith-led side won 6 matches and lost 8. The rumours in recent weeks have been that the BCCI is planning to hold a mega auction for the next season. However, some franchises are unhappy with this decision, as it will give them less time to prepare since the IPL 2021 is expected to happen in the regular March-April window.

Rajasthan should look for an Indian captain: Aakash Chopra

In a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra tried to analyze what could be the retention strategy for the Rajasthan Royals. Chopra opined that if a mega auction takes place, the Royals should retain Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler.  Although he knows that only two overseas players can be retained, Chopra says they could use the right-to-match card, or try and buy back their third overseas superstar.

The cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra suggests that RR should not retain any Indian player, be it Sanju Samson, or Rahul Tewatia, or Kartik Tyagi, or Shreyas Gopal. The former opener feels that no Indian players are worth such big money, as they can repurchase most of them at a lower price in the auction.

“If there is a mega-auction, in my opinion, they should retain Jofra, Ben Stokes, and Jos Buttler if possible although I don’t think they will be able to retain three overseas players. But if possible they should retain even with RTM.

“I don’t see an Indian player in the Rajasthan Royals lineup who you need to keep for 7-7.5 or 12 crores. Sanju Samson, Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi, or Shreyas Gopal – none of them is a player who is worth the retention money,” Aakash Chopra.

The 43-year-old Aakash Chopra also reckons that the pink-franchise should drop Steve Smith as the captain of their team and look to make an Indian player as the new skipper. He observed that while Smith is a good captain, he hasn’t done wonders leading the Jaipur-franchise. The former KKR player said that Rajasthan should look for an Indian captain and build the team around him as they seem to be over-reliant on their overseas contingent.

“Can they make an Indian captain in the coming years? Maybe that is something that I will park with them because Steve Smith’s captaincy is good but it is not working with this team.

“I would say, just look for an Indian captain and then start building your team around him. The overseas reliance is just a bit too much in my opinion,” Aakash Chopra added.

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