3 days Ago By Megha Mallick
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has said that not Mohammed Siraj but Arshdeep Singh will be the most expensive pacer at the upcoming IPL 2025 mega auction. He has picked five pacers whom he thinks can bag a big purse at the auctions and surprisingly, Siraj doesn't feature on the list. He was earlier released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Yash Dayal, Sandeep Sharma, Mayank Yadav and Mohsin Khan are the six specialist Indian pacers who have been retained by their respective franchises. Chopra said that South African pacer Kagiso Rabada or Mitchell Starc can be the fifth-most expensive fast bowler at the auction. "At No.
5, I have kept Kagiso Rabada's name. Rabada will come at the start and be expensive as well. I feel he will take five to six crores at least.
Mitchell Starc could also be there here. I don't think Mitchell Starc will be among the top three," Chopra said while speaking on his YouTube channel. "After that, at No.
4, I have got Bhuvneshwar Kumar. I feel Bhuvneshwar Kumar will earn a lot of money. His bowling is extremely consistent and he is a wonderful character.
Everyone loves him a lot. I am putting him at No. 4, but don't be surprised if he is at No.
3 or No. 2," Chopra said. The former Indian cricketer then said that it is debatable how the franchises are seeing Mohammed Shami.
He picked seven wickets in a Ranji Trophy outing for Bengal and will play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as well. Chopra said that there are some doubts over his fitness, but he can still be a big buy. The former Indian cricketer added that the Gujarat Titans might look to get back Shami, using an RTM card.
"At No. 2, that's a strange one because this is a mega auction but this guy will once again take a lot of money. His name is Harshal Patel.
He was the 'Purple' Patel last year as well. Harshal Patel is a genuine wicket-taker. He bowls better at the death than many of the current Indian bowlers," Chopra said.
"At No. 1, I have kept Arshdeep Singh. There is no doubt about that.
He can even go up to 18 crores. People are saying that a bowler might not get 18 crores, but he should get it. He might end up playing for Punjab one more time because they have a lot of money," Chopra added.
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