If KKR Can't Find Anyone Else At Auction, Will Go Towards Rinku As Captain: Aakash Chopra

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS) Former India batter Aakash Chopra has said three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) should name Rinku Singh as captain if the IPL 2027 auction does not result in them finding a suitable leader, especially in terms of overseas options.

The question of who leads KKR has come up after Ajinkya Rahane's retirement. KKR missed the playoffs last season, and must also finalise their retention list before the deadline comes on November 17.

“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'll actually go towards Rinku,” said Chopra on JioStar.

He also felt KKR would have the funds to look for a captain at the auction if they released two of their most expensive players, all-rounder Cameron Green and pacer Matheesha Pathirana.“I am looking to leave out Cameron Green at Rs 25.2 crores. It's a World Cup year, and it's 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.

“We also don't 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,” added Chopra.

He further questioned whether keeping all-rounder Ramandeep Singh and tearaway pacer Umran Malik made sense, given how little they played in IPL 2026.“I'm slightly worried about Ramandeep Singh personally at four crores. He's not getting utilised at all, so that is my area of concern. If I'm not going to play him and he's not doing well, then do I want to go elsewhere?

“I know that's just Rs 4 crores, but that money can be utilised better. Another player is Umran Malik. Do they release him? He's only for Rs 75 lakhs, but they don't play him. If they're not playing him, then for Umran's sake, I'll say release him.

“You just feel for the boy, as he's got the upside, so why make him sit on the bench? If you can't play him and Harshit is available, then let the boy go and play somewhere else.”

Ex-India opener Abhinav Mukund recommended that KKR retain young wicketkeeper-batter Tejasvi Singh Dahiya, citing how much value uncapped Indian keepers fetched in the previous auction.“I would still retain Tejasvi because he's a Rs 3-crore player. Considering you've got so much money on the table now, where you're not going to be fighting for players, I don't see anyone breaching the Cameron Green mark in this auction anyway.

“So, I just have a feeling you've got to retain these players. The last auction was a very nice example of how domestic Indian wicketkeeper-batters were in demand, with Kartik Sharma going for a lot of money, and then there was a drop-off.

“There was Salil Arora, Tejasvi Singh, and Ravi Singh playing for Rajasthan Royals, all in the Rs 3-4 crore bracket. So, I think you've got to retain him because the Delhi boy has potential,” he added.

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