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Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra said that if Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) fail to get an overseas player on board for captaincy during the auction, they should consider giving batter Rinku Singh the armband.
Aakash was speaking on JioStar's 'Game Plan' ahead of IPL 2027 auction on December 16 this year. Ajinkya Rahane, under whose captaincy the three-time champions finished at seventh this season, has retired. They also face concerns over availability of big buys Cameron Green, who could get busy with the 50-over World Cup and The Ashes next year and Sri Lankan pacer Matheesha Pathirana, who has not featured in any game since May due to injuries. Speaking on JioStars Game Plan, JioStar expert Aakash said that KKR should look at releasing Green and Pathirana to have a massive surplus of Rs 43 crores in their purse. "I am looking to leave out Cameron Green at Rs 25.2 crores. It is a World Cup year, and it is an Ashes year, so I am not sure about his availability or how many matches he will play. If you release him, even if you feel like buying him back, you can easily get him for 50 per cent cheaper. Secondly, Matheesha Pathirana is also not playing, so that's another Rs 18 crore buy. KKR are likely to walk into this auction with the most amount of money, so that will be the big story," he said. "We also do not know what is going to happen with Mustafizur Rahman. If he is available and can play, you would want to retain him, but can he play? We don't know about that. If he can play, I would still have him retained because you already have a surplus of Rs 43 crore with those two releases," he added. On giving Rinku the captaincy, Aakash feels he is the right option, having won UPT20 for Meerut Mavericks as a captain this year. He feels that sometimes a player needs to be "thrown into the deep end". "Appoint Rinku as the captain. You made him the vice-captain, right? Then have him as the captain now. He leads his side in the UPT20. Sometimes you have to throw people in at the deep end and see what happens. So, this is that opportunity, unless they can find somebody at the auction. If they can't find anyone, rather than looking at overseas players, I will actually go towards Rinku," he said. (ANI)
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