Former India opener Aakash Chopra feels that Royal Challengers Bangalore won’t make the big moves in the upcoming Indian Premier League auction. The Bangalore-based franchise retained their core team as Faf du Plessis will lead the team once again as Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Mohammed Siraj, Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel will once again try to help RCB win their maiden title.
The spotlight will be once again on some talented all-rounders in the auction as Sam Curran, Cameron Green and Ben Stokes are expected to hit the paydirt on December 23.
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Chopra suggested that RCB have to work on strengthening their bowling unit as Faf and Co. will play the majority of matches at their home stadium – Chinnaswamy where the dimensions are a bit small as compared to other grounds. However, the former cricketer feels that RCB won’t go after someone like Curran as they don’t have the purse to afford him.
“There will be matches in Chinnaswamy as well this time, the simple meaning of that is – make your bowling side slightly more heavy, buy someone who you can get cheap. They might want to go towards left-armers. They will not even think about Sam Curran, nor will they be able to afford him,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
He also suggested that RCB have to find an ideal replacement for premier pacer Josh Hazlewood as he might leave the tournament early due to Ashes.
“It can be Reece Topley, Madushanka or Joshua Little. They might need a backup for Josh Hazlewood as well because this is the Ashes year. Some people might run away in between this year. It can be Paul van Meekeren as well. This team might look towards associate nations,” he added.
Chopra also talked about the ideal backups for RCB’s leading spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.
“If you talk about their spin department, you can see Adam Zampa or Adil Rashid as a backup for Wanindu Hasaranga. I will go towards Zampa, they can go whichever way they want. I rate Zampa a little higher,” he said.
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The cricketer-turned-commentator said that RCB also need a lower-middle order batter who can give support to Karthik to finish the innings.
“Daryl Mitchell is available. They tend to have problems in the lower-middle order because they have to get the job done by Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik, so you feel you can get one or two more guys. I don’t see Wanindu Hasaranga as an all-rounder but a bowler, because he has not contributed much with the bat in the IPL,” Chopra said.
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