IPL 2023 Auction: He could be a ‘King’ by going to either PBKS or CSK – Aakash Chopra on Sam Curran

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra believes Sam Curran could become a ‘King’ by going to either to Punjab Kings or Chennai Super Kings. Interestingly, the English all-rounder has played for both of these franchises in the past.

Curran will be the cynosure of all eyes in the upcoming IPL 2023 auction on Friday in Kochi. The all-rounder had an amazing run for England in the T20 World Cup as he scalped 13 wickets in six matches to finish as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament.

Curran returned with figures of 3-12 in the final against Pakistan and played a key role in taking his team to glory. Thus, he was awarded the Player of the Match in the final as well as the Player of the tournament for his fine showing. The 24-year-old youngster has set his base price at INR 2 crores.

Meanwhile, PBKS have INR 32.20 crores left in their purse ahead of the auction whereas CSK has INR 20.45 crores left in their purse.

Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “Only two teams can realistically bid that high for Sam Curran, and that’s Hyderabad and Punjab. Out of these, Hyderabad doesn’t need him. So I believe he could be a ‘King’ by going to either PBKS or CSK. The chances of him going to Punjab are more because of their huge purse.”

The former KKR player tipped Sam Curran to be the most expensive player of the auction.

“I think Curran will be the costliest player in the auction. He might even be sold for 16-18 crore. That barrier (record) of 16.25 crore is likely to be breached. He will be an asset to any team because he will give you four overs and will also be explosive in the lower middle-order, something that you don’t see often these days,” Chopra opined.

Curran has definitely improved his death bowling and he will be on the radar of a lot of franchises in the upcoming auction.