Aakash Chopra Names 6 Big Names Who Could Be Drafted By New IPL Teams Before Mega Auction | Cricket News

All eight existing Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have submitted their list of retained players ahead of the mega auction in January. With two new teams — Lucknow and Ahmedabad — joining the already existing eight teams in the upcoming teams, six players who were not retained by the franchises will not be able to make it to the mega auction. They instead will be drafted to the two new franchises. Both Lucknow and Ahmedabad can draft three players each ahead of the mega auction next month.

Former India batter Aakash Chopra named six players who he believes are likely to be drafted by the new franchises. He picked four Indian and two overseas players in his list.

Chopra feels KL Rahul, Rashid Khan, Shreyas Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ishan Kishan and David Warner will be drafted to the two new franchises.

“My first pick is KL Rahul. I feel he will not be able reach the auction. Punjab Kings wanted to retain him but he didn’t want to. I think he is going to Lucknow, and will become the captain of the new team,” said Chopra in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.

“Rashid Khan is second in the pecking order. I don’t think his name will reach the auction table. He did not want to stay at SunRisers Hyderabad as he has been already approached by a new franchise with a better salary,” he added.

“My third pick is Shreyas Iyer. He is likely to become captain of the Ahmedabad franchise. He is an important player and will be drafted to a new team. I won’t be surprised to see him lead Ahmedabad as he has already captained Delhi Capitals,” said Chopra.

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“Yuzvendra Chahal is another player who might go to Ahmedabad. Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya might not be a part of the auction, but Ishan Kishan’s stocks are a bit high at the moment.,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

“David Warner will not make it to the auction either. He is a proven match-winner. He has a lot of experience, has won a lot of games, and has scored 600 odds runs in so many seasons. You won’t find a more consistent player than him,” he concluded.