Aakash Chopra, Shreyas Iyer
Aakash Chopra (Image Credit: Twitter)

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) let go of both Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel but can buy them back at a decent price in the IPL 2022 mega auction.

RCB opted to retain Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Mohammed Siraj ahead of the mega auction. Chahal and Patel were terrific for the franchise last season, the latter even ending with 32 wickets, a joint record he now holds for most wickets in a season with Dwayne Bravo.

It’s a good question. They would have thought about both of them, but they would have thought about whether they can buy them again at 7-8 crores. I think you can buy back both of them for 7-8 crores.”

Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel
Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel. Credits: IPL

The choice might have been between Siraj and Harshal, on whom to retain between the two. It would have been a big toss-up. They decided to retain Siraj, which I think is actually a good idea from both the long-term and short-term perspectives,” Chopra said.

Aakash Chopra feels Harshal may not be as effective as he was on UAE tracks

Since the UAE tracks that the league was played in last year were low and slow, Harshal happened to be effective but he may not have the same impact on Indian tracks, as per Chopra.

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The conditions are going to be different. The cricket you saw till now was on different grounds, the Wankhede ground in Mumbai might not suit Harshal that much, Chinnaswamy might not suit. So I think that’s fair.

Harshal Patel
Harshal Patel (Image Credit: Twitter)

One more thing is what Harshal and Yuzi want. Yuzi might have said that he wants 10 crores and you as a franchise might not have found that appropriate, and you would buy him back at the auction. You might get back Yuzi Chahal in your team in 6-6.5 crores, Harshal might also come back without spending a lot more. I don’t think it’s that bad a decision,” Chopra added.

The mega auction takes place on February 12 & 13 in Bengaluru.

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