IPL 2023 Retention: "What will you do with that much money?" - Aakash Chopra questions SunRisers Hyderabad's retention strategy

Aakash Chopra has questioned whether the massive purse available at SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) disposal will help their cause at the IPL 2023 auction.

SRH released 12 players, including their skipper Kane Williamson, ahead of the IPL 2023 auction. They have ₹42.25 crore left in their kitty, the most for any franchise heading into the auction on December 23.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that SunRisers Hyderabad might not have to spend money on acquiring seam bowlers, reasoning:

"What about Hyderabad? 42 crore rupees, what will you do with that much money? They have changed the entire household. They have 12 players of which six are fast bowlers. They have Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kartik Tyagi, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik and T Natarajan. That means they don't have to shop for fast bowlers."

The former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player reckons either Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Aiden Markram will likely lead the 2016 champions in next year's IPL. He elaborated:

"They have to do shopping for batters and a captain. Can they give the captaincy to Bhuvneshwar Kumar? That's a thing I am looking forward to seeing. It is possible this team's captain might be Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Aiden Markram. I am not able to figure out a third captain in this team."

SunRisers Hyderabad could even consider buying back Williamson at a cheaper price at the auction and continue with him as their skipper.

"They will have to do a lot of shopping in batting" - Aakash Chopra on SunRisers Hyderabad

Nicholas Pooran is among the players released by SunRisers Hyderabad [P/C: iplt20.com]

Chopra feels SRH will have to look for batters at the auction. He explained:

"They will have to do a lot of shopping in batting. There is Rahul Tripathi along with Abhishek Sharma, then Aiden Markram but after that they don't have batters at all, you only see Abdul Samad after that. So this team will have to shop for batters in a big way."

The reputed commentator opined that the Hyderabad-based franchise might look to target the likes of Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey, and Ben Stokes at the auction. He stated:

"I see Mayank Agarwal going to them. They might run towards Manish Pandey as well. They might want to pick Ben Stokes, they can keep him as well, because they have a lot of money and they don't need bowlers."

#OrangeArmy, here are the #Risers who will continue to be a part of our journey for #IPL2023 🧡

#SunRisersHyderabad https://t.co/B3ExEz8bP3

Chopra concluded by observing that SRH would also need to acquire spin bowlers, considering they have released Shreyas Gopal and Jagadeesha Suchith and only have one spinner in the form of Washington Sundar.