IPL 2023: "No One Thought The Mumbai Indians Will Be Able To Pick Cameron Green" - Aakash Chopra
Updated - 27 Dec 2022, 03:34 PM
Five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians bought Australian young all-rounder Cameron Green for Rs 17.50 crore at the IPL mini-auction in Kochi on December 23. The 23-year-old became the second-most expensive buy in the history of the auction. Former Indian cricketer Akash Chopra believes Mumbai Indians (MI) surprised many cricket experts by spending huge on Cameron Green in the mini-auction.
The Australian all-rounder had a fantastic week and claimed his maiden Test five-wicket haul against South Africa on the first day of the second Test in Melbourne. Green will make his IPL debut in the upcoming edition and is expected to fill the shoes of the legendary Kieron Pollard, who retired as a player before the auction. Green has played eight T20Is for Australia, scoring 139 runs at a strike rate of 173.75 and taking five wickets.
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Mumbai Indians (MI) Was Missing An All-Rounder – Aakash Chopra
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said that the Mumbai Indians breaking the bank for Green may have surprised everyone. The former Indian opener said that the Mumbai Indians have a history of acquiring quality all-rounders.
“No one thought the Mumbai Indians will be able to pick Cameron Green. Will they spend so much money because they didn’t have much? But they did that. They bought him at 17.5 crores. Wow, that’s quite a bid,” Aakash Chopra said.
“What does Cameron Green bring to this team? This team was missing an all-rounder. If you see the Mumbai Indians’ history, they have a love for all-rounders. There was a time when they were a champion team, they had Hardik (Pandya), Krunal (Pandya) and (Kieron) Pollard – where do you have three such quality all-rounders?” he added.
MI had a purse of 20.55 crores available in the auction, and they spent 17.5 crores to buy Green, along with another 3 crores on seven other players. MI decided not to retain Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya ahead of the IPL 2022 auction. They opted not to retain Kieron Pollard as a player ahead of the mini-auction, but the West Indies all-rounder will be the batting coach of the team.
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