Former India player Aakash Chopra expects the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to spend a lot of money to acquire one among Mitchell Starc, Gerald Coetzee and Pat Cummins at the IPL 2024 auction as well.

However, RCB released Josh Hazlewood, David Willey and Wayne Parnell before the auction and he has Reece Topley as the only overseas pace bowler in their squad. They have a remaining purse of ₹23.25 crore and they can buy a maximum of six players, including three overseas.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “Which bowlers will they go towards? Because they have money, I feel they will break the bank. They need one big bowler. The three options available are Mitchell Starc, Gerald Coetzee and Pat Cummins.”

He again added: “They will go all out for one of those three. Three teams will go absolutely all-out. One is Chennai (CSK), the second is KKR and the third is RCB.”So you can find those three fast bowlers between these three teams. Any of those three could land in the Bangalore team but it will come at a huge cost.”

Apart from the RCB, other teams would also be looking to buy quality overseas pacers as well. The Gujarat Titans, who have a remaining purse of a massive ₹38.15 crore and have only Joshua Little as an overseas pacer could also try for the big ones.

However, Aakash Chopra also stated that the Royal Challengers Bangalore won’t have the option to again buy Wanindu Hasaranga as well.

“We did a mock auction on Jio, and it seemed like the fast bowlers could even go for 16-17 crores. If it goes till there, you won’t have much money left. Then the Wanindu Hasaranga dream will remain a dream as you won’t even have five to six crores to spend,” Aakash Chopra concluded. “Then suddenly your hands will be tied. Out of the 23.25 crores you have, if you give 17 crores to one player, you won’t be able to make a team because you let a lot of players go.”