Aakash Chopra said that the Rajasthan Royals could face issues in the spin department in IPL 2025. He questioned the 2008 champions for releasing Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal and for failing to buy them at the auction.
Ashwin and Chahal were not considered for retention by the franchise. They didn’t try to buy Yuzvendra Chahal, who went to Punjab Kings for INR 18 crore. On the other hand, RR went after Ravichandran Aswin, but they were outbid by Chennai Super Kings, who paid INR 9.75 crore for the legendary spinner.
“Yuzi Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin are no longer with Rajasthan Royals. They are the best possible spin twins available, but you let them go. You didn’t retain one, and that means you had to look for spinners in the auction,” Aakash Chopra said.
Chopra added that Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana, the two RR buys, are not of the quality of Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan.
“They picked Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana. I think that the Sawai Mansingh Stadium might suit them. It is a big ground but their two spinners are not like Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan. So you think twice if they made the right decisions,” he added.
Hasaranga was bought for INR 5.25 crore, while they paid INR 4.40 crore for Theekshana.
Chopra mentioned that the franchise could have bought Piyush Chawla, who went unsold.
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