"I was surprised they didn't pick Shahrukh" - Aakash Chopra on the Delhi Capitals' acquisitions at IPL 2024 auction

Aakash Chopra has expressed surprise about the Delhi Capitals (DC) refraining from trying to buy Shahrukh Khan at the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai on Tuesday.

The Capitals spent a total of ₹19.05 crore to acquire nine players at the auction. Wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra (₹7.2 crore) was their most expensive purchase, with Jhye Richardson (₹5 crore) and Harry Brook (₹4 crore) being their other big-ticket buys.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was taken aback by the Delhi Capitals' decision not to go for Shahrukh to address their middle-order issues.

"Delhi did a decent job. They picked Harry Brook. I was surprised they didn't pick Shahrukh. They picked Tristan Stubbs and tried to pick one or two uncapped Indians who could bat well down the order. A slight hole is still seen in the lower-middle order but you will see a hole in many teams," he elaborated.

The former India opener feels the Capitals' head coach Ricky Ponting would have had a role to play in Richardson's acquisition.

"They were going after Spencer Johnson as well. Jhye Richardson's acquisition has Ricky Ponting's imprint. They wanted Spencer Johnson and Jhye Richardson because the coach is an Australian," Chopra added.

Apart from Kushagra, Richardson, and Brook, the Delhi-based franchise bought Tristan Stubbs, Ricky Bhui, Rasikh Dar, Sumit Kumar, Shai Hope, and Swastik Chhikara at the auction.

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"Slightly surprising" - Aakash Chopra on the Gujarat Titans failing to acquire their first-choice players

The Gujarat Titans had the maximum remaining purse heading into the auction. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra was also slightly surprised by the Gujarat Titans' (GT) approach at the auction.

"Gujarat didn't get their first choices, which was slightly surprising. You went after Mitchell Starc and Harshal Patel but you didn't pick them. I was surprised they didn't go after Gerald Coetzee," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator claimed that the other franchises' tactics helped the Mumbai Indians' cause.

"I feel Gerald Coetzee is the steal of the auction, Mumbai took him for five crores. They got (Dilshan) Madushanka along with him for a total of around 9.5 crores, and we were assuming that both could individually go over 10 crores," Chopra stated.

Chopra added that the Gujarat Titans got slightly stuck before they eventually bought Shahrukh Khan and Spencer Johnson. He termed Azmatullah Omarzai's acquisition at ₹50 lakh a great buy for the IPL 2022 champions.