Aakash Chopra, the former India opener-turned-cricket expert, has chosen six big-name players who might get picked by the two new Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises based in Lucknow and Ahmedabad, ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction.
With all the eight original franchises revealing their retained players, now the two new franchises will have the opportunity to pick up to three players from the pool of cricketers who were retained by their respective franchises, as and when the BCCI allows them to.
This led to Aakash Chopra choosing his six players who may go for big bucks to the two new teams in the IPL 2022.
Chopra feels KL Rahul, Rashid Khan, Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ishan Kishan, and David Warner will be drafted to the two new franchises.
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"My first pick is KL Rahul. I feel he will not be able to reach the auction. Punjab Kings wanted to retain him but he didn't want to. I think he is going to Lucknow and will become the captain of the new team," Chopra said in his YouTube video.
"Rashid Khan is second in the pecking order. I don't think his name will reach the auction table. He did not want to stay at Sunrisers Hyderabad as he has been already approached by a new franchise with a better salary," he added.
His third pick was Shreyas Iyer, who captained Delhi Capitals to their maiden IPL final in the 2020 edition.
"My third pick is Shreyas Iyer. He is likely to become captain of the Ahmedabad franchise. He is an important player and will be drafted to a new team. I won't be surprised to see him lead Ahmedabad as he has already captained Delhi Capitals," said Chopra.
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Many were surprised that RCB let go of their star leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Chopra said about him: “Yuzvendra Chahal is another player who might go to Ahmedabad. Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya might not be a part of the auction, but Ishan Kishan's stocks are a bit high at the moment.”
Last but not the least, Chopra talked about David Warner, who was unceremoniously removed as captain by SRH and then dropped from the playing XI altogether.
"David Warner will not make it to the auction either. He is a proven match-winner. He has a lot of experience, has won a lot of games, and has scored 600 odds runs in so many seasons. You won't find a more consistent player than him," he concluded.
