Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has criticised the management of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team after they released several bowlers before the IPL 2024 auction. The Bangalore-based franchise let go of Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, and Josh Hazlewood before the mini-auction in Dubai.
Royal Challengers Bangalore appears to be planning a major revamp of their bowling lineup, as they have released several frontline players ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. Other players that have been released include New Zealand’s Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, South Africa’s Wayne Parnell, England’s David Willey, and Indian players like Sonu Yadav, Avinash Singh, Siddharth Kaul, and Kedar Jadhav.
Aakash Chopra remarked that while Cameron Green’s signing may boost RCB’s batting, the team’s recurring bowling difficulties have increased and that they were left out with proper bowlers in the team.
“They (RCB) have released a lot of players. They made three big releases in Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel and Josh Hazlewood. However, they have got Cameron Green. So their batting order will look like Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Cameron Green, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, and Dinesh Karthik – looks alright,” Aakash Chopra said.
“However, they don’t have any fast bowlers and spinners left. So they will have to shop for fast bowlers and spinners. How they will do that – I have got no idea,” Aakash Chopra added.
Fans were expecting Royal Challengers Bangalore to release Harshal Patel due to his high price tag and excessive economic rate. However, the decision to release Josh Hazlewood and Wanindu Hasaranga instead of Patel left the fans perplexed. The team has retained Reece Topley from England, and Indian primary pacer Mohammed Siraj will lead the Challengers’ pace attack.
Chennai Super Kings Need At Least One Or Two Overseas Fast Bowlers – Aakash Chopra
Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra believes that defending champions Chennai Super Kings will have a significant amount of money left in their account after releasing Ben Stokes and Ambati Rayudu. He further added that young Mukesh Choudhary would make a comeback into the playing 11 and the team would be eyeing for a few overseas pacers in the upcoming auction.
“Chennai have released a lot of money. They have 32 crore rupees now. They have let quite a few fast bowlers go. So they will have to shop for fast bowlers. Mukesh Choudhary is available again but they need at least one or two overseas fast bowlers,” Aakash Chopra added.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have released eight players from their squad before of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction. CSK has also released Sisanda Magala, Kyle Jamieson, Dwaine Pretorius, Bhagath Varma, Subhranshu Senapati, and Akash Singh in addition to Ben Stokes and Ambati Rayudu.
