Aakash Chopra said the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were lucky that they couldn’t buy Austrlia captain Pat Cummins for big bucks in the IPL 2024 auction.
The Bangalore-based franchise was interested in the pacer and went for him. However, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) outbid them and added Cummins to their squad for INR 20.50 crore.
“RCB wanted Pat Cummins at any coast and kept lifting the paddle. They went till INR 20 crore before SRH secured the services of the seamer. I thought they had 23.25 crore in their purse and if they would have got Cummins, had he bowled from both ends?”
“RCB would have been weak had SRH pulled out from the race at INR 20 crore. Also, Cummins would have gone for a lot of runs on small Chinnaswamy ground with a flat pitch.”
Chopra added that RCB should thank the Men in Orange.
“Send Merry Christmas and Happy New Year cards to SRH because they saved you. It was interesting that RCB did’t bid for Gerald Coetzee and Mitchell Starc.”
Aakash Chopra revealed that Harshal Patel was disappointed that RCB didn’t retain him after just one bad season.
“RCB released Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel. Harshal was unhappy with RCB as he thought of getting retained but the franchise released him just after one bad season with the ball.”
They didn’t bid for the fast bowler, who was bought by the Punjab Kings for INR 11.75 crore.
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