"Personally, I disagree with that decision" - Aakash Chopra questions RCB for not reacquiring Will Jacks in IPL 2025 auction
Aakash Chopra has disagreed with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) decision not to reacquire Will Jacks at the IPL 2025 auction. He pointed out that the England all-rounder was available for a relatively cheap price.
RCB released Jacks ahead of the auction and didn't bid or use the Right To Match card for him. The big-hitting top-order batter was acquired by the Mumbai Indians (MI) for ₹5.25 crore.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener expressed his surprise about RCB showing no interest in reacquiring Jacks. However, Chopra acknowledged that the three-time finalists' batting is not weakened because of his absence.
"Not keeping Will Jacks was a very interesting story. They neither bid nor used the RTM for him. There was a lot of discussion on that because we all thought they would definitely keep Will Jacks. However, this team thought that their top order was sorted and they don't need Will Jacks in that. It's a matter of thinking," he said (8:10).
"Will Jacks could have played as an opener, and you could have spent ₹25-27 crore for Rishabh Pant in the middle, or else you could have kept KL Rahul. You had ₹83 crore. Leaving Will Jacks was a bit of a surprise for me. Personally, I disagree with that decision. I won't say that their team has become weak because of that, but Will Jacks was worth it for ₹5-6 crore," Chopra added.
Jacks smashed 230 runs at a strike rate of 175.57 in eight IPL 2024 innings. He smoked an unbeaten 100 off just 41 deliveries against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad, a knock that played a significant role in RCB's qualification for the playoffs.
"Krunal Pandya is not your wicket-taking left-arm spinner" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's spin-bowling weakness
![RCB acquired Krunal Pandya for ₹5.75 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/12/6fd1f-17330290020968-1920.jpg?w=500)
In the same video, Aakash Chopra picked RCB's spin-bowling attack as a potential weakness in IPL 2025.
"After Yuzvendra Chahal, they haven't got a good spinner like that. They have taken Krunal Pandya. Krunal Pandya is very defensive. His economy is good at this ground (Chinnaswamy Stadium) as well, but Krunal Pandya is not your wicket-taking left-arm spinner. He will give a little batting, but it's Krunal Pandya," he said (6:50).
The reputed commentator pointed out that the combination of Krunal Pandya, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, and Liam Livingstone is unlikely to worry opposition batters at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
"The second spinner they have is Suyash Sharma. Then they have Swapnil Singh. So Swapnil, Suyash, Krunal Pandya, and Liam Livingstone with them, if you think this is the spin-bowling department, will you (the opposing team) be worried? I will not be worried at all. Good spinners are thrashed at that ground," Chopra observed.
Chopra added that opposition teams won't lose sleep over this spin attack even at other venues. He added that Krunal and Swapnil might not be able to play together as they are similar kinds of bowlers.