IPL 2023: "They Went Searching For Middle-Order Batter And They Couldn't Take Any Of Them Because They Had Only 8.75 Crores" - Aakash Chopra On Royal Challengers Bangalore
Updated - 28 Dec 2022, 06:03 PM
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 mini-auction was held in Kochi on Friday, December 23. Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra said that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) tried to solve their middle-order concerns through acquisitions during the mini-auction but could not do it as the available purse was limited.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore went into the mini-auction with a purse of Rs. 8.75 crore. They signed seven players, including two overseas players, to make a full-strength 25-man squad. RCB purchased Sonu Yadav, Avinash Singh, Rajan Kumar, Manoj Bhandage, Will Jacks, Himanshu Sharma, and Reece Topley in the auction.
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They Went Searching For Middle-Order Batter – Aakash Chopra
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said that the RCB went all out to acquire middle-order batters, but they couldn’t take any of them with their limited budget.
“They went searching for a middle-order batter and because of that, they went after Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Sam Curran, Cameron Green, Ben Stokes and Manish Pandey. They couldn’t take any of them because they had only 8.75 crores. You won’t even get their shadows with that much money,” said Chopra on his YouTube channel.
There Was No Need Or Scope For Many Changes – Aakash Chopra
The former India opener highlighted that RCB had less money in the auction as they had already bought some key players in the previous auction, and had a strong squad of retained players. Chopra further stated that the RCB has the most bases covered in terms of batting and all-rounders.
“They are extremely expensive players, so how will you buy them? They had less money because the team is looking good. There was no need or scope for many changes. This team has openers in the form of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Finn Allen and Anuj Rawat.”
“They have two middle-order batters in the form of Rajat Patidar and Suyash Prabhudessai and wicketkeepers in the form of Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat. They have kept quite a few all-rounders – Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror, Wanindu Hasaranga, Will Jacks, Manoj Bhandage and Sonu Yadav.”
The Royal Challengers Bangalore will be hoping that Glenn Maxwell is fully fit and available for the entire IPL 2023 season. They would also expect Dinesh Karthik to repeat his IPL 2022 form in the upcoming edition.
However, Chopra is not confident about RCB’s middle order. He said, “If we talk about the XI – former captain Virat Kohli with Faf du Plessis, then Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik. When I say this, every time I feel that Maxwell is mercurial, and then Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik – not the right kind of middle order.”
Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad
Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Dinesh Karthik, Akash Deep, Anuj Rawat, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Mohammed Siraj, Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Siddharth Kaul, Suyash Prabhudessai, David Willey, Finn Allen, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Reece Topley, Will Jacks, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Manoj Bhandage, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav.
Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah
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IPL 2023 Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
