"Unfortunately, Indian players aren't the costliest"- Aakash Chopra on his issue with IPL auctions

Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has claimed that top Indian players like Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli, etc. not being the most expensive ones in the IPL is one of the 'unfortunate' things about the IPL auctions.

All-rounders like Sam Curran (INR 18.5 crore to PBKS), Cameron Green (INR 17.5 crore to MI), and Ben Stokes (INR 16.25 crore to CSK) became the top three highest buys in the history of the IPL auction on Friday.

However, Chopra feels that with Indian players being at the center of the development of the IPL, it is baffling that the costliest IPL players are all overseas stars. In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Aakash Chopra had to say:

"One thing that hurt me personally is that while the likes of Sam Curran, Cameron Green and Ben Stokes were sold for such big amounts, Indian players like Jasprit Bumrah got just 12-14 crore and batters like Rishabh Pant just got 15-16 crore. This is the Indian Premier League, but unfortunately, Indian players aren't the costliest."

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Aakash Chopra on Indian stars coming into the auction

Aakash Chopra claimed that if players like Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya decide to get back into the auction pool, the teams will go so hard for them that they won't care too much about the quality of overseas buys in their team.

He feels that someone like Hardik earning less than Cameron Green isn't the right thing because of the difference in the quality of the duo. On this, Chopra stated:

"If these Indian players choose to come in the auction, these teams will break the bank to get them. But since they opt out of coming in the auctions, they have to be content with 15-16 crore while players like Cameron Green go for 17.5 crore. That is incorrect in my opinion."

All-rounders ruled the IPL 2023 auction, further highlighting their importance in T20 cricket.