"They came for window shopping" - Aakash Chopra on the Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL 2023 auction
Aakash Chopra has said that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) went into the IPL 2023 auction just for window shopping as they did not have enough money to buy big-ticket players.
KKR released 16 players ahead of the mini-auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23. However, they had only ₹7.05 crore available for the auction as they spent big bucks to trade in Shardul Thakur (₹10.75 crore), Lockie Ferguson (₹10 crore) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (₹50 lakh).
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted that the Kolkata Knight Riders knew that they couldn't afford too many expensive players at the auction. He elaborated:
"They came for window shopping. They knew very well their first XI was ready and that they couldn't have done much because they didn't have the money.
"Kolkata is close to Bangladesh. So suddenly it has become like a catchment area - Litton Das and Shakib Al Hasan - two Bangladesh players."
The former KKR player pointed out that the franchise ensured that they had sufficient wicketkeeper-batter options, explaining:
"They spent a lot of money on [Narayan] Jagadeesan because they didn't have an Indian wicketkeeper at all. They had let Sheldon Jackson go. They had taken Rahmanullah Gurbaz as keeper and along with him, they have kept Litton Das and Jagadeesan also now. They tried to fill their keeper slot."
Narayan Jagadeesan (₹90 lakh), who has been in excellent form of late, was the Kolkata Knight Riders' first pick at the auction. They subsequently acquired Bangladesh keeper-batter Litton Das for ₹50 lakh.
"They have probably kept Shakib Al Hasan as an all-rounder for away games" - Aakash Chopra on Kolkata Knight Riders' other auction picks
Aakash Chopra reckons the Knight Riders had a decent auction, observing:
"They have kept two pacers in the form of Vaibhav Arora and Kulwant Khejrolia. They have probably kept Shakib Al Hasan as an all-rounder for away games. If we see based on the auction, it was not that bad. They have kept David Wiese as an all-rounder but he is just a backup."
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The reputed commentator also chose the four overseas players KKR will likely field in their playing XI, saying:
"When I try to see their four overseas player, I see Andre Russell, one of Gurbaz or Litton Das at the top, and then Lockie Ferguson and Sunil Narine. That's all I can think of. It could be a choice between Lockie Ferguson and Tim Southee but Sunil Narine is a certainty."
Chopra picked Varun Chakravarthy as a possible impact player for KKR if they bowl second. He added that the two-time champions haven't given themselves too many options for Indian batters as impact players.