“KKR to go all-out for” – Aakash Chopra makes early prediction ahead of IPL 2024 auction 

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has made an early prediction for the upcoming IPL 2024 auction scheduled to be held in Dubai on December 19. The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons that Kolkata Knight Riders will try their best to buy Sri Lankan bowler Dilshan Madushanka.

Chopra wrote on X (formerly Twitter):

"KKR to go all-out for Dilshan Madhushanka."

For the unversed, Madushanka emerged as one of the leading wicket-takers in the 2023 World Cup. The left-arm medium pacer scalped 21 wickets in nine matches at an economy rate of 6.70, including a fifer and four-wicket haul.

Overall, the 23-year-old has scalped 31 wickets in 15 ODIs. In T20Is, he has taken 12 wickets in 11 T20Is at an economy rate of 9.8.

Apart from internationals, Madushanka has claimed seven wickets in as many outings at an economy of 7.90 in the 2023 Lanka Premier League.

---

“The young man bowled brilliantly” - Mahela Jayawardene lauds Dilshan Madushanka ahead of IPL 2024 auction

Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena recently lauded Dilshan Madushanka for his World Cup heroics. He credited Madushanka for using his skills to his advantage and shared how he is getting better at death-over bowling with the added confidence.

Jayawardena, who is Mumbai Indians’ global head of performance, recently told ESPNCricinfo:

"To be honest, no, I didn't expect him to have such a good World Cup. I thought it would be a bit too much for him because it's his first one-day World Cup. At the start he also didn't have the experienced guys around him - Dushmantha Chameera wasn't there. But I thought the young man bowled brilliantly."

"He's coming around the wicket and creating good angles. He's used the slower bouncer pretty well and bowled the [faster] bouncer pretty well. And the length control is excellent. He's not giving too much away. He's staying within the stumps even from around the wicket."

He added:

"At the death, the wide slower balls, the yorkers - these are things we've been speaking to him about, but with the confidence he's got now, he's had much better execution."

Madushanka has slotted himself at a base price of INR50 lakh for IPL 2024 auction. A total of 333 cricketers will go under the hammer for a maximum 77 slots, including 30 overseas players.

KKR retained players for IPL 2024: Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer.