Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra believes that Royal Challengers Bangalore has found themselves lucky not to land at the Australian captain Pat Cummins in the just concluded IPL auction 2024. The Bangalore-based franchise was in a bidding war with SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), with the Hyderabad-based franchise picking him for a staggering 20.50 crore.
The intense bidding war among franchises saw four teams fighting for Cummins’ services all vying for the seasoned Australian skipper. The bidding war heated up when SRH entered the picture, pushing the bid for the Australian all-rounder beyond the 20 crore level, making him the first player in IPL history, and went on to acquire Cummins for a whopping INR 20.50 crore.
In a video released to his YouTube account, Aakash Chopra questioned the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s strategies and tactics to spend over 20 crores to pick Pat Cummins in the auction despite having a total purse of 23.25 crores and believes that if Sunrisers Hyderabad had pulled out of the bid, RCB would have had an extremely weak bowling attack for the 2024 season, as Cummins could have been hit all over the park in Chinnaswamy Stadium.
“They had totally made up their mind that they wanted Pat Cummins at any cost and they kept going after him, kept lifting the paddle. It went till 20 crores and I folded my hands and said – ‘think a little’. If you had got Pat Cummins for 20 crores and you had 23.25 crores, would Pat Cummins have bowled from both ends?”
“If they had bought Pat Cummins, if SRH had pulled out at that stage, and they would have got him for 20 crores, their team would have become extremely weak. When you released so many players and if you had picked Pat Cummins on a small Chinnaswamy ground with a flat pitch, you would have been hit a lot,” Aakash Chopra said.
In his last two seasons with Kolkata, the right-arm pacer failed to live up to expectations, picking up just 16 wickets at 28.06 in 12 matches with an economy rate of 9.62 before skipping last year’s IPL to focus on international obligations and it will be interesting to see whether the Australian all-rounder deliver goods for the team in the cash-rich league.
Harshal Patel Was Thinking That Maybe They Would Show A Little More Faith – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra stated that veteran Indian pacer Harshal Patel was disappointed after being released by Royal Challengers Bangalore before the auction, adding that he expected a little more trust from the team management given that he had two strong seasons before the dismal season last year.
“RCB released Triple H (Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel). Harshal was with us on JioCinema. Harshal told us he was thinking that maybe they would show a little more faith as he didn’t have one good season but had two very good seasons before that. However, they didn’t,” Aakash Chopra added.
In 2021, Harshal Patel had a remarkable season with RCB, taking 32 wickets in 15 games and winning the Purple Cap at the end of the season. However, in 2023, he had an ordinary season, taking 14 wickets at a 9.66 economy rate, and was brought by Punjab Kings in the 2024 auction