Former player Aakash Chopra has made a bold claim that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) might not go for Mitchell Starc who was bought by them previously in 2018. Previewing the auction strategy and releases on his YouTube channel he said that KKR will be looking to strengthen their fast bowling departments and could aim at several of them in the auction.
KKR released a whole bunch of players including Shardul Thakur, and Lockie Ferguson, and will be looking to go all out for Fast bowlers in the upcoming auction. With as much as 32.7 crore left in their purse, they are among one of the teams with the highest purse.
KKR have not given themselves too many options- Aakash Chopra
Speaking in his video, the Ex cricketer pointed out the shortage in their fast bowling unit and would go for someone like Madushanka who had an impressive World Cup finishing among the leading wicket-takers. He stated,
“They have not given themselves too many options. They have two Indian fast bowlers in the form of Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora but they won’t be able to do the job alone. Andre Russell’s bowling ability remains a huge doubt in any case,” said Aakash Chopra.
He further explained,
“I feel they will go shopping for fast bowlers. Very few franchises will be able to outbid them because they have a lot of money. If I know Gautam Gambhir well, his sights will be set on Madushanka. So Madushanka might actually have a field day. He might get sold for six to eight crores,” he stated.
He also said that Madushanka is on several team’s lists and he is going to be a hot stock at the auction with his left arm variety and the ability to swing the new ball.