Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has expressed concern over Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) spin bowling strategy ahead of IPL 2025. Aakash Chopra criticized Rajasthan Royals for releasing Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin and not reacquiring either of the two in the mega auction.

Rajasthan Royals decided not to retain Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of the mega auction IPL 2025. The inaugural IPL champions did not try to bring back Chahal in the recent auction. Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) outplayed them to secure Ashwin for Rs 9.75 crore.

Arguably had the best Spin Twin available – Aakash Chopra

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra noted that Rajasthan Royals tried to solve their lower-order problems. Chopra said releasing players forced them to look at other options in the auction.

“They’ve handled the lower-order issue they had, but they had Yuzi Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin. You arguably had the best possible spin twin available with you, but you let both go. You didn’t retain any of them, and that means there were than shopping,” Chopra said.

Rajasthan Royals told to think twice if their tactics were correct – Aakash Chopra

The Royals successfully acquired Sri Lankan spinners Wanindu Hasaranga for Rs 5.25 crore and Maheesh Theekshana for Rs 4.40 crore. They also acquired the services of Madhya Pradesh left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikya.

The former Indian opener was not happy with the Royals’ decision to pick Hasaranga and Theekshana as their overseas spinners. He wondered if they would be as effective as renowned spinners like Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan.

“They picked foreign spinners – Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana. I’m thinking Jaipur’s ground, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, might be suitable for them. It’s a big ground, but two foreign spinners, unless their names are Sunil Narine and Rashid Khan. So you have to think twice if this tactic is right,” Chopra added.

Wanindu Hasaranga has missed a lot of cricket – Aakash Chopra

In the same video, Aakash Chopra said that Wanindu Hasaranga is an injury-prone player and added that he could be a problem for Rajasthan Royals. He noted that Hasaranga has missed a significant amount of cricket due to injuries.

“It’s okay if you still bowl fast overseas sometimes. However, you picked both overseas spinners, of which one is extremely injury prone. Wanindu Hasaranga has missed a lot of cricket due to injuries. I don’t think any spinner has been injured more than him and he is an integral part of their team, because none of the top six bowlers, if we leave aside Riyan Parag’s bowling,” Chopra said.

The Royals entered the mega auction with the lowest remaining purse of ₹41 crore. They signed Jofra Archer and also invested in Aakash Madhwal. Before the auction, RR had retained six players – Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer and Sandeep Sharma.

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