Sunrisers are the ones who might take him away: Aakash Chopra on Mayank Agarwal

Mayank Agarwal was a prolific run-scorer in his time at PBKS and is also a potential captain. (P.C.:iplt20.com)

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are front-runners to secure the signing of Mayank Agarwal in IPL 2023 auction. The former Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper was released by the franchise ahead of this year's auction and that raised quite a few eyebrows.

However, Chopra explained that PBKS probably did it to pair Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow at the top of the order. He feels there are many teams who need a solid opener and so Agarwal is likely to have a big pay day.

In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Aakash Chopra had to say about PBKS letting Mayank Agarwal go:

"One of the main reasons for leaving out Mayank was that they weren't able to find a position for him at the top of the order. But one thing is for sure that he will be sold for a huge amount. KKR probably need an opener but they can't afford him. Sunrisers are the ones who might take him away."

Aakash Chopra on PBKS signing big names

Aakash Chopra believes Punjab have enough money in their kitty to go big for at least one of the star all-rounders in Sam Curran, Cameron Green and Ben Stokes. He feels there is only a small chance of PBKS not getting the star players they want.

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On this, Chopra stated:

"They have 9 slots available and INR 32 crore to spend, which is quite a lot of money. If they set their sights on someone, they will get that player more often than not. One of the big names among Curran, Green, etc. might go to Punjab and the other might go to Sunrisers. They can bid even till INR 15 crore so that they still have around 15 crore for the other eight players, which is a decent sum."

Who should Punjab go hard for among Curran, Green and Stokes? Let us know in the comments.