"You can buy him back cheaper" - Aakash Chopra picks Mohammed Siraj as one of the players RCB can release ahead of the IPL 2023 auction

Mohammed Siraj had a poor IPL 2022 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra feels the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) should consider releasing Mohammed Siraj before buying him back at the IPL 2023 auction.

Siraj looked far from his best in the recently concluded edition of the Indian Premier League. The lanky pacer picked up just nine wickets in the 15 matches he played and conceded an average of more than 10 runs an over.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Siraj as one of the players RCB could release ahead of the auction. He reasoned:

"Mohammed Siraj was retained for seven crores. You may release him. If you release him, whom will you get, that's a big question because you will have to get an Indian bowler. You can buy him back cheaper actually, he will not be sold for seven crores now."

The former India batter added that the other RCB pacers performed quite well in IPL 2022 but Siraj proved to be a letdown. Chopra explained:

"You have an overseas bowler in the form of Josh Hazlewood, Harshal Patel has done very well, Akash Deep was not too bad at the start as well. You wanted to hold on to him (Siraj), I thought that was a great idea but the season has not been good."

Highest economy rate in an IPL season (min: 50 overs):
10.07 - Mohammed Siraj in 2022
9.96 - Dwayne Bravo in 2018
9.65 - Jaydev Unadkat in 2018
9.38 - Mitchell McClenaghan in 2017

Among top-50 bowlers of this list, only Siraj of 2022 took under 10 wickets.
#IPL2022

Josh Hazlewood and Harshal Patel scalped 20 and 19 wickets, respectively, in IPL 2022. Akash Deep snared five wickets in as many matches but was expensive on a few occasions.

"Faf and Kohli are going to open" - Aakash Chopra picks Anuj Rawat as another player RCB can release

Anuj Rawat averaged just 16.12 for RCB in IPL 2022 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra named Anuj Rawat as another player RCB can release. He elaborated:

"Anuj Rawat, you spent 3.4 crores on him. He played one good innings and after that, you didn't play him. If Anuj Rawat is not going to open, Faf and Kohli are going to open, then you can release 3.4 crores by releasing Anuj Rawat. That's 10-and-a-half crores already."

The reputed commentator concluded by picking Sherfane Rutherford and David Willey as two overseas players RCB could let go of. Chopra observed:

"Sherfane Rutherford, you didn't play him at all, just an odd match. So one crore rupees gets released there. You gave David Willey two crores and I don't think he is going to fit in your team. So you can release David Willey as well. So 12-14 crores have been released, which means you now have ample money to make a difference."

Willey and Rutherford played four and three games, respectively, at the start of the tournament but did not cover themselves in glory. They were consigned to the sidelines once Glenn Maxwell and Hazlewood were available for selection.

Also Read: "Virat Kohli was not Virat Kohli" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's pain points in IPL 2022