"Can go towards Green, Klaasen": Aakash Chopra on Delhi Capitals ahead of IPL auction

New Delhi [India], November 14 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra said that Delhi Capitals (DC) can go towards players like Cameron Green and Heinrich Klaasen during the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction if they get released, pointing out that the team needs a stronger middle order to support an in-form Tristan Stubbs.

Aakash was speaking on his YouTube channel about DC's possible retentions, buys etc, leading into next year's IPL. After a strong start to the season, DC fell short of qualifying for the playoffs, finishing in fifth place with seven wins, six losses, and a no-result, earning 15 points.

Speaking on his channel, Aakash said that the team needs a strong middle-order since KL failed to perform well in the middle order last time around, and players like Karun Nair, Sameer Rizwi and Ashutosh Sharma can only serve as "twists and options"

"You will need another player in the middle order. Of course, there is Stubbs there, but you will need a proper middle-order batter because KL Rahul is not performing in the middle order. Ultimately, you ended up making him open anyway. Karun Nair, Rizvi, or Ashutosh Sharma, these players can only serve as twists and options. They can only be companions to Stubbs; they have not been able to work shoulder to shoulder. So you need another middle-order batter, and for that, you will need to release some money. You can do that, the options are available to you," he said.

"This is also a team that can go towards Cameron Green, and if anywhere Heinrich Klaasen gets released and comes in, then this team can also go towards Heinrich Klaasen. It's not necessary that you have to keep with (Abishek) Porel or KL Rahul. Just do it with Klaasen, on that ground, that will be outstanding. It will be a lot of fun. They could have a lot of money," he added.

Last year, KL did not score heavily at number four, scoring just 219 runs in seven innings and with just one half-century, a brilliant 93* against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) with a subdued strike rate of 136.02, as compared to over 164 while opening the innings, where he smashed a century and fifty each in four innings.

Stubbs was consistent with his finishes and controlled aggression, scoring 300 runs across 13 innings at an average of 50.00, with a strike rate of above 150. Nair (198 runs in eight innings at an average of 24.75 with a fifty), Ashutosh (204 runs in nine innings at an average of 29.14 and a strike rate of over 160 with a fifty) and Rizwi (121 runs in four innings at an average of over 40 and a strike rate of over 153 with a fifty) produced mixed outings.

Aakash also said that DC will have to settle their opening tournament, having tried out Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul, Jake Fraser McGurk and Faf du Plessis and all of them not being consistent and impactful enough.

"They do not want to keep the musical chairs and revolving door system. If you want to settle the opening, you will need money for that. And the money will be available to you if you release so many players. That was one important aspect, so at least you get your batting order sorted," he added.

Aakash also made a point that with skipper Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and an impactful Vipraj Nigam, DC is strong in their spin department and could get some Indian fast bowlers by releasing Mohit Sharma, Mukesh Kumar and T Natrajan to combine with overseas talent like Dushmantha Chameera and Mitchell Starc.

"If you release Mohit, Mukesh, and T. Natarajan, you will have to buy some Indian bowlers. That means you will need a bit more fast bowling because your spin department is already very strong. You have Kuldeep, Axar, Vipraj Nigam, your spin contingent is outstanding. So everything is fine there. But in fast bowling, with Dushmantha Chameera and Mitchell Starc, you need a bit more. You had kept Mustafizur Rahman, you can keep him or release him. And if you want to buy someone else, that option will remain available to you," he concluded.

The 2026 Indian Premier League IPL mini-auction is set to be held on December 16 in Abu Dhabi, marking the third consecutive year that the event will take place overseas. The 2024 auction in Dubai was the first-ever IPL auction held outside India, followed by the two-day mega auction for the 2025 season in Jeddah last November, according to ESPNcricinfo. (ANI)

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