Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra believes that Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s fitness concerns might leave the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) owners in a conundrum to retain the India seamer ahead of the next Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) auction.
Bhuvneshwar has one of the key performers for the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL over the years, but a spate of injuries in the recent past may lead to a tricky decision for the franchise to retain the experienced seamer or not ahead of the mega IPL 2022 auction.
The 31-year-old has suffered a string of injuries in the last couple of years. Bhuvneshwar returned to action in the IPL 2020 following the Coronavirus-enforced break and missing a lot of international cricket, but he yet again sustained a thigh muscle injury and missed the majority of the tournament.
Subsequently, the right-arm pacer missed India's tour of Australia and then Test series against England at home, however, he managed to return for the white-ball leg and showed some form with the ball and even in the now-suspended IPL 2021 but could play only a couple of games for the SRH.
Well, the happiness did not last long as Bhuvneshwar walked off with a thigh strain in their third match and eventually sidelined for a couple of matches in the IPL 14.
With the first and second retention being worth Rs 17 and 15 Crore, Chopra said the SRH may be tempted to release Bhuvneshwar due to his fitness issue and then grab him back by using the RTM card.
Chopra said his YouTube channel, “Hyderabad has Bhuvneshwar Kumar amongst the Indians to be retained, whom they might think about. But Bhuvi's fitness has been an issue. If it persists like this, it will be a problem because the first retention might be for 17 crores and the second might be for 12-15 crores. Would he be available at the auction for a cheaper price, maybe yes, maybe not.”
Read Also: IPL 2021: KKR's Pat Cummins says, "IPL cancellation was pretty heartbreaking"
The cricketer-turned-commentator has further reckoned that SRH’s first retention will be Afghanistan’s champion leg-spinner, Rashid Khan at the IPL 2022 auction.
He continued, “So in my opinion, Rashid Khan will be SRH's first retention. He is going to be an expensive player although you want to keep more Indians in the retention list.”
Chopra also said the SRH’s second retention could be Bhuvneshwar, but he would go with the former skipper David Warner given the Australian opener’s consistent performances over the years in the IPL.
He signed off by saying, “Second could be Bhuvi but I might just want to go with David Warner. You can leave the current performance but he is a terrific player.”
