"They will not even think about Sam Curran, nor will they be able to afford him" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's likely IPL 2023 auction strategy

Aakash Chopra believes the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will neither look towards nor will be able to afford Sam Curran at the upcoming IPL 2023 auction.

The Bangalore-based franchise has retained 18 players ahead of the mini-auction to be held in Kochi on December 23. They have a remaining purse of ₹8.75 crore, with which they can buy a maximum of seven players.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that RCB will not look to acquire Curran even though they might be interested in left-arm seamers, saying:

"There will be matches in Chinnaswamy as well this time, the simple meaning of that is - make your bowling side slightly more heavy, buy someone who you can get cheap. They might want to go towards left-armers. They will not even think about Sam Curran, nor will they be able to afford him."

The former Indian opener suggested Reece Topley, Dilshan Madushanka and Joshua Little as left-arm seam-bowling options and added that the franchise might need a backup for Josh Hazlewood, reasoning:

"It can be Reece Topley, Madushanka or Joshua Little. They might need a backup for Josh Hazlewood as well because this is the Ashes year. Some people might run away in between this year. It can be Paul van Meekeren as well. This team might look towards associate nations."

RCB already have a foreign left-arm seamer in the form of David Willey. However, they will certainly want to beef up their overseas seam-bowling resources.

"I will go towards Adam Zampa" - Aakash Chopra on Wanindu Hasaranga's backup in RCB

Wanindu Hasaranga picked up 26 wickets in IPL 2022 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Chopra reckons RCB might want to acquire either Adam Zampa or Adil Rashid as a backup for Wanindu Hasaranga, elaborating:

"If you talk about their spin department, you can see Adam Zampa or Adil Rashid as a backup for Wanindu Hasaranga. I will go towards Zampa, they can go whichever way they want. I rate Zampa a little higher."

#QuickByte: Most wickets for spinners in an IPL season

*Yuzvendra Chahal (RR) - 27 (2022)*
Imran Tahir (CSK) - 26 (2019)
Wanindu Hasaranga (RCB) - 26 (2022)

#IPLFinals | #TataIPL2022 | #IPL2022 | #RRvsGT

The reputed commentator feels the three-time finalists can look to beef up their lower-middle order, explaining:

"Daryl Mitchell is available. They tend to have problems in the lower-middle order because they have to get the job done by Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik, so you feel you can get one or two more guys. I don't see Wanindu Hasaranga as an all-rounder but a bowler, because he has not contributed much with the bat in the IPL."

RCB will also be fretting over the fitness of Glenn Maxwell. The Australian all-rounder broke his leg in a freak accident during a birthday party and is unsure when he can fully recover from the injury.