IPL 2022 Auction: Expect Odean Smith To Get INR 4-5 Crores - Akash Chopra

Former India opener Aakash Chopra, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) says that West Indies’ all-rounder Odean Smith will trigger a bidding war and he expects him to fetch around 4-5 crores in the upcoming IPL 2022 auction.

Smith is one of the 34 West Indies players who have been shortlisted for the mega auction of IPL 2022. He is up for grabs at a base price of Rs 1 crore. The IPL 2022 mega auction will happen on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru.

The right-handed pace bowler, and powerful lower-order hitter, Odean Smith picked up the wickets of Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant to hurt India’s batting unit in the 2nd ODI. He bowled 7 overs and gave away just 29 runs. Smith was bowling full title and with a lot of control as his pace and bounce troubled the Indian batters.

Odean Smith – I Feel He Has Become A Half-A-Million-Dollar Player: Aakash Chopra

Smith, 25, had been part of the West Indies U19 side in the 2016 Youth World Cup and thus far, has played 4 ODIs and 7 T20Is for West Indies after making his senior international debut in 2018. Smith was the second-highest wicket-taker in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2021), picking up 18 wickets in 11 matches last year.

“Odean Smith – I feel he has become a half-a-million-dollar player. He has already become a 4-5 crore player because all teams will run after him.

“Overall, the skillset with which he is coming, in the IPL mega auction, he will get a lot of horns blown. He bowls, Rishabh Pant and Kohli dismissed in one over and he would have got Rahul as well, and then came to play the big shots,” Aakash Chopra said in his YouTube channel.

Meanwhile, Odean Smith also spoke about the IPL 2022 mega auction and said that he was excited to enter the two-day event and was eager to see which team picked him.

“Quite excited going to the auction, I would say. If I get selected, that will be good. My hopes are high on getting selected,” the 28-year-old said in a virtual media interaction after the second ODI in Ahmedabad.

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