Mumbai Indians will definitely go after Yuzvendra Chahal: Aakash Chopra

Mumbai Indians will definitely go after Yuzvendra Chahal- Aakash Chopra (Source – Getty Images)

Former India international Aakash Chopra believes that the five-time IPL (Indian Premier League) champions, Mumbai Indians (MI), will target Yuzvendra Chahal in the upcoming mega-auction, slated to take place later in the month in Jeddah. Notably, the leg-spinner was bought for INR 6.5 crore in the IPL 2022 mega-auction and picked 66 wickets for Rajasthan Royals in the last three seasons.

Despite being one of their biggest match-winners, Chahal wasn’t retained and will be available for INR 2 crore in the mega-auction. Chopra expects Mumbai to focus heavily on strengthening their bowling unit which bothered them heavily in the past three seasons. He analyzed that they might build a complete Indian batting unit and fill the seam department with two foreign pacers alongside Jasprit Bumrah. For the spin, he expects the franchise to go after Chahal or try their luck in having Washington Sundar in the squad.

“Their batting has become strong once again. The problem is that they have only one bowler, who is a four-over bank, but you need more bowlers. Bowling let them down last time as well. They used to score runs, 225 to 250 but used to concede that many as well,” Chopra said in a video released on his YouTube channel.

“So they had so much overdependence on the batting to fire and scoring 20-40 runs above par every time is a bit too much. They might have an entire Indian batting lineup and an overseas bowling lineup, with a couple of Indian spinners. They will definitely go after Yuzi Chahal. I don’t know whether they will get him or not. They might want to keep Washington Sundar,” the 47-year-old added.

Mumbai will go for Ishan Kishan for sure but won’t get him: Chopra

Mumbai bought Ishan Kishan for INR 15.25 crore in the 2022 mega-auction. He was released ahead of IPL 2025 but Chopra believes that the franchise will once again try to have him in the auction. However, he understands that the player may end up playing for another team as MI has only INR 45 crore remaining in the purse. He added that in that case, the franchise can target Quinton de Kock or Phil Salt.

Also Check- IPL Retention 2025: Full List of Retained and Released Players with Remaining Purse for All Teams

“They will also need a wicketkeeper-batter. They will go for Ishan Kishan for sure but won’t get him. So they might go towards Quinton de Kock because they need a keeper-batter. They might find Jitesh Sharma. They will definitely go towards Phil Salt because they need an opener keeper-batter. Jitesh doesn’t fit that slot but then he is also an Indian,” Chopra concluded.

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