"You won't even get their shadows with that much money" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's attempts to acquire middle-order batters

Aakash Chopra has highlighted that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) tried to address their middle-order issues through acquisitions at the IPL 2023 auction but couldn't do so due to a limited available purse.

The Bangalore-based franchise went into the mini-auction in Kochi on Friday, December 23, with a remaining purse of ₹8.75 crore. They acquired seven players, including two overseas, to assemble a full-strength 25-member squad.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that RCB went all out to acquire middle-order batters, elaborating:

"They went searching for a middle-order batter and because of that, they went after Harry Brook, Mayank Agarwal, Sam Curran, Cameron Green, Ben Stokes and Manish Pandey. They couldn't take any of them because they had only 8.75 crores. You won't even get their shadows with that much money."

The former Indian opener observed that Faf du Plessis' side had a limited budget because they already had a good squad, saying:

"They are extremely expensive players, so how will you buy them? They had less money because the team is looking good. There was no need or scope for many changes. This team has openers in the form of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Finn Allen and Anuj Rawat."

Chopra added that RCB have most bases covered in the batting and all-rounder departments, explaining:

"They have two middle-order batters in the form of Rajat Patidar and Suyash Prabhudessai and wicketkeepers in the form of Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat. They have kept quite a few all-rounders - Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror, Wanindu Hasaranga, Will Jacks, Manoj Bhandage and Sonu Yadav."

The Royal Challengers Bangalore will hope that Glenn Maxwell is fully fit and available for the entire duration of IPL 2023. They will also want Dinesh Karthik to replicate his IPL 2022 form in next year's edition of the league.

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"Not the right kind of middle order" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's batting

Dinesh Karthik smashed 330 runs at a strike rate of 183.33 in IPL 2022. [P/C: iplt20.com]

However, Chopra is not confident about RCB's middle order, stating:

"If we talk about the XI - former captain Virat Kohli with Faf du Plessis, then Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik. When I say this, every time I feel that Maxwell is mercurial, and then Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik - not the right kind of middle order."

The reputed commentator pointed out that Wanindu Hasaranga too scores runs everywhere but has not done so in the IPL. He added that the three-time finalists will hope to somehow manage with Will Jacks as a backup for Maxwell in the middle order since Finn Allen is predominantly an opener.