​​”You will wish a lot to retain Riyan Parag” – Aakash Chopra on Rajasthan Royals’ potential retentions ahead of IPL 2025 auction

Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra feels Rajasthan Royals will want to retain Riyan Parag ahead of the auction. As Parag made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe, he can’t be retained as an uncapped player for INR 4 crores.

The right-hander from Assam had a stellar run in the previous season, scoring 573 runs (third-highest in the tournament) in 14 innings at an average of 52.09 and a strike rate of 149.21. Thus, he played an instrumental role in helping RR reach the playoff stages.

Chopra said Parag should not retained as the fourth player for INR 18 crores by the inaugural champions. The renowned commentator picked Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, and Yashasvi Jaiswal as the first three retentions.

“Their top three retentions should be Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal. You can decide one, two and three – it really doesn’t make a difference, because whether you leave out Yashasvi, Sanju or Jos Buttler, they will go for 14 to 15 crores,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

“All three are batters, which includes two Indians. Your top three is set. You need to retain these three. After that, you will have slight problems. You will wish a lot to retain Riyan Parag. However, I won’t agree with Riyan Parag for 18 crores,” the former India opener added.

On the other hand, Sandeep Sharma last played for India back in 2015 and doesn’t have a BCCI central contract and thus can be retained as an uncapped player for INR 4 crores.

“Sandeep Sharma is an uncapped Indian. You can keep him with you for four crores. Then you will be left with two Right To Match cards. You can use one for Riyan Parag and the second for Yuzi Chahal,” Chopra said.

Sandeep scalped 13 wickets in 11 matches of IPL 2024 at a decent economy rate of 8.18 while bowling in the death overs as he grabbed his chance with both hands.

Chopra wants RR to retain Dhruv Jurel as he feels the youngster has a bright future ahead of him and can be an asset to the team.

“You will then hope that you somehow get Dhruv Jurel as well because I feel Dhruv Jurel has a great future in this team. He is a gun player. We haven’t yet seen the best of Jurel because he doesn’t get to bat. He gets to bat very low in the batting order but he is a player you want to invest in,” Chopra reasoned.