"I think you can buy back both of them for 7-8 crores" - Aakash Chopra on RCB not retaining Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal

Aakash Chopra feels Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) decision not to retain Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal ahead of the IPL 2022 Auction might not be a bad call.

Patel and Chahal were RCB's highest wicket-takers in IPL 2021. While the former won the Purple Cap last year for his 32 wickets, the latter snared 18 scalps in the tournament.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was asked whether RCB did the right thing by not retaining Chahal and Patel. He responded:

"It's a good question. They would have thought about both of them, but they would have thought whether they can buy them again at 7-8 crores. I think you can buy back both of them for 7-8 crores."

The former KKR player concurred with the RCB's decision to retain Mohammed Siraj ahead of Harshal Patel. Chopra reasoned:

"The choice might have been between Siraj and Harshal, on whom to retain between the two. It would have been a big toss-up. They decided to retain Siraj, which I think is actually a good idea from both the long-term and short-term perspectives."

Aakash Chopra highlighted that Harshal Patel might not be as effective on batter-friendly surfaces. He elaborated:

"The conditions are going to be different. The cricket you saw till now was on different grounds, the Wankhede ground in Mumbai might not suit Harshal that much, Chinnaswamy might not suit. So I think that's fair."

Patel picked up a majority of his wickets last year at Chepauk and in the UAE. He was found slightly wanting during RCB's encounters at the Wankhede Stadium.

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"One more thing is what Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal want" - Aakash Chopra

Yuzvendra Chahal is RCB's highest wicket-taker in IPL history

Aakash Chopra pointed out that Yuzvendra Chahal and Harshal Patel might not have been happy with the amount that was offered to them. He explained:

"One more thing is what Harshal and Yuzi want. Yuzi might have said that he wants 10 crores and you as a franchise might not have found that appropriate, and you would buy him back at the auction. You might get back Yuzi Chahal in your team in 6-6.5 crores, Harshal might also come back without spending a lot more. I don't think it's that bad a decision."

Certain reports suggest that RCB were keen to retain the services of Chahal. However, they could not reach a financial agreement with the wily leg-spinner.