‘They will not even think about Sam Curran’ – Aakash Chopra’s take on Bangalore ahead of Indian T20 League 2023 mini auction

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra thinks that the Bangalore franchise neither looks towards Sam Curran nor will they be able to afford him at the upcoming Indian T20 League 2023 mini-auction.

The franchise has 18 retained players ahead of the Indian T20 League auction scheduled to take place in Kochi on December 23. They have a remaining purse of Rs. 8.75 crores, with which they can buy a maximum of seven players.

On his Youtube channel, Chopra stated that the Bangalore franchise will not go after Curran even though they are willing to sign him. 

“There will be matches in Chinnaswamy as well this time, the simple meaning of that is – make your bowling side slightly more heavy, buy someone who you can get cheap. They might want to go towards left-armers. They will not even think about Sam Curran, nor will they be able to afford him.”

The commentator opined that the Bangalore franchise could go hard on Reece Topley, Joshua Little, and Dilshan Madushanka as backup options for Australian veteran speedster Josh Hazelwood.

They tend to have problems in the lower-middle order: Aakash Chopra

“It can be Reece Topley, Madushanka or Joshua Little. They might need a backup for Josh Hazlewood as well because this is the Ashes year. Some people might run away in between this year. It can be Paul van Meekeren as well. This team might look towards associate nations.”

The Indian opener also said that the Bangalore franchise should either look for Adam Zampa or Adil Rashid as a backup for Sri Lankan leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga. 

“If you talk about their spin department, you can see Adam Zampa or Adil Rashid as a backup for Wanindu Hasaranga. I will go towards Zampa, they can go whichever way they want. I rate Zampa a little higher.”

Chopra says that the three-time finalists can look to beef up their lower-middle order as well. 

“Daryl Mitchell is available. They tend to have problems in the lower-middle order because they have to get the job done by Shahbaz Ahmed and Dinesh Karthik, so you feel you can get one or two more guys. I don’t see Wanindu Hasaranga as an all-rounder but a bowler, because he has not contributed much with the bat in the Indian T20 League.”