"4-5 pacers will go in the million-dollar-plus bracket" - Aakash Chopra names fast bowlers who will be sought after at the IPL 2022 Auction

Aakash Chopra believes a handful of seam bowlers will emerge as million-dollar players at the IPL 2022 Auction.

The likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Anrich Nortje and Mohammed Siraj have already been retained by their respective franchises ahead of the mega auction. A couple of uncapped pacers in Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh were also retained by the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Punjab Kings respectively.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra opined that pacers will strike gold at the IPL 2022 Auction. He observed:

"I feel four to five pacers will go in the million-dollar-plus bracket. Pacers will be in huge demand and they are also in huge supply, whether you see overseas or Indians."

The former KKR player highlighted that a plethora of overseas pacers will be available at the auction. Chopra elaborated:

"Amongst the overseas pacers - you have Rabada, Lockie, Trent Boult, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Holder and all of that. There is a huge list - you will also get Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mark Wood, Tymal Mills and Chris Jordan."

Aakash Chopra added that there are plenty of seam-bowling options even in the Indian contingent. He stated:

"If you talk about Indians, you look at Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi, Harshal Patel and then you will have Avesh Khan, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya. There is a long list but all will be sold."

Apart from the aforementioned bowlers, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma will be some of the experienced Indian pacers available at the auction.

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"All the proven customers are going to be fairly expensive" - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra highlighted that the relatively less experienced Indian pacers will also draw huge bucks. He explained:

"All the proven customers are going to be fairly expensive, no one will be bought cheaply. It's not that you will get Shivam Mavi at 50 lakhs, no chance at all. You will see Shivam Mavi, Kartik Tyagi and Chetan Sakariya among the expensive players."

The renowned commentator concluded by naming the seam bowlers who are likely to be the most prized picks. Aakash Chopra said:

"Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, if I am smart I will go Lockie Ferguson, Deepak Chahar, Avesh Khan, Shardul Thakur maybe, Harshal Patel - there are plenty of bowlers who will cross the million-dollar bank."

Kagiso Rabada and Trent Boult are likely to be the most sought-after pacers among the overseas contingent. Prasidh Krishna's exploits in the ODI series against West Indies would surely have bumped up his price as well.