Former Indian Cricketer Aakash Chopra believes Allah Ghazanfar was a smart pick for Mumbai Indians (MI) at the IPL 2025 auction. He wondered how the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise let the Afghanistan Spinner Allah Ghazanfar go at a relatively low price.
Mumbai Indians bought Ghazanfar for ₹4.80 crore at the recent auction after competing with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Apart from him, the Mumbai-based franchise also acquired the services of Trent Boult for ₹12.50 crore and Deepak Chahar for ₹9.25 crore.
Allah Ghazanfar is a quality player & is slightly more accurate than Mujeeb-ur-Rahman– Aakash Chopra
Assessing the auction Aakash Chopra on his YouTube channel opined that RCB made major mistakes once again during the auction letting key players go to other franchices. He said,
“Who is Allah Ghazanfar? He is an Afghanistan bowler. There was a match in Sharjah where Bangladesh were 132/3 and were all out for 143. He took six wickets while conceding 26 runs. They were playing for the incoming ball when the ball was going away and vice versa. He is a quality player,” he said.
“I see a slightly upgraded version of Mujeeb Ur Rahman in him. The action is similar, but he is slightly more accurate. He is slightly quicker in the air, and it seems like people are finding it difficult to read him at the moment. He is a steal. I felt RCB wouldn’t let him go. RCB’s loss is Mumbai’s gain, as was the case with Will Jacks,” Chopra added.
Along with Ghazanfar, Mumbai Indians also bought Kiwi Allrounder Mitchell Santner for ₹2 crore strengthening their spin bowling. Meanwhile, RCB’s team purchased Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya in the spin department.
Trent Boult at the Wankhede Stadium is an absolute beast– Aakash Chopra
In the same video, Aakash Chopra mentioned that the Mumbai Indians got one of the best possible bowling partners for Jasprit Bumrah in Trent Boult.
“Imagine if you were living in a fantasy land, whom would you want with Jasprit Bumrah? It would be enjoyable if you get Trent Boult, Mitchell Starc, or Arshdeep Singh. They acquired Trent Boult. Trent Boult at the Wankhede Stadium is an absolute beast. He picked up three wickets in the first three overs the last time he played against Mumbai there. That was game, set, and match,” he said.
The cricketer-turned-pundit believes that by adding Deepak Chahar to their ranks, Mumbai Indians might feel Jasprit Bumrah won’t be needed with the new ball.
“It’s not Boult only. If they have Boult at one end, they won’t start with Bumrah at the other end. They will start with Deepak Chahar. He is phenomenal. I rate him very highly. If you see his numbers with the new ball, the Wankhede pitch, and the slight swing available there, with Boult and Deepak Chahar, at least once in this tournament, the opposing team will be three or four down in the powerplay overs itself,” Chopra observed.
Aakash Chopra further pointed out that Bumrah might bowl just one over in the powerplay. He questioned how the opposing teams would score runs if the top pacer bowled three overs in the death overs.