Aakash Chopra, the former Indian opener has reacted to the rumors of Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan joining the Ahmedabad franchise over Lucknow for the IPL 2022.
Ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction, there have been rumors surfacing around that Ahmedabad is all set to make Hardik Pandya their skipper, and have potentially signed up Ishan Kishan and Rashid Khan as well.
BCCI has asked the two franchises to complete the signing of the 3 new players by January 22nd. The deadline was provided after officially approving the ownership of CVC Capital for the Ahmedabad franchise.
The chairman of the Indian Premier League has already announced February 12 and 13 as the dates of the IPL 2022 auction, which will be held in Bengaluru.
According to the report from Sportskeeda, Rashid Khan may join the Ahmedabad franchise, after they have reportedly sent an IPL contract for him to sign ahead of the auction.
Addressing the latest rumor, Aakash Chopra said that Rashid joining Ahmedabad over Lucknow is going to be a heist.
“The news has come that Hardik Pandya is going to become the captain of the Ahmedabad franchise. There are talks of Ishan Kishan and Rashid Khan as well. That means Rashid Khan is not going to Lucknow, that’s a bit of a heist, in my opinion. The expectation was that Rahul and Rashid Khan will be there, but he is not there," Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
BCCI has given formal clearance to both the new franchise of the IPL.
There was a controversy when CVC Capital had won the bid for the Ahmedabad franchise. It was revealed that the European arm of the investment firm had links to betting companies. However, later it was clarified that the firm has invested through its Asian funds which don’t have any such links.
“The Ahmedabad franchise has been confirmed, they have already got the letter of intent. It is also confirmed that the auction will happen on February 12 and 13. But Hardik Pandya will be picked in the draft and he will be the captain. That’s phenomenal, this is very very good," Chopra further said in the video.
Aakash Chopra also said that Shreyas Iyer and David Warner might also enter the mega auction where franchises like Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians will target them.
“If Warner also wants to come into the auction and he doesn’t go to Lucknow, then Lucknow will be wondering whom to pick. There were rumors that Shreyas Iyer might go to Ahmedabad but probably that is also not happening," he said.
“Shreyas Iyer could go to Bangalore, could go to Mumbai. Mumbai could go after Warner, I feel even RCB will run after Warner. Warner is going to be an extremely precious commodity if he comes into the auction," he added.
