Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra said that David Warner went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction due to non-cricketing reasons. He added that a more aged player like Faf du Plessis was also bought at the auction. Warner, who had a base price of ₹2 crore, didn’t find any takers in the auction held in Jeddah on November 24 and 25 as well. Du Plessis was acquired by the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the same base price.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “Some people were not sold, and some of them were statements, that they won’t take David Warner. You were getting David Warner for ₹2 crore. He is IPL’s GOAT, his Aadhar card is already made, dances to South Indian songs, and loves India a lot but no one bought him. It can’t be because of cricket. Faf du Plessis was sold. If Faf can be sold, why not David Warner?” he said.
ALSO READ: “Shubman’s captaincy is very good” – Ravi Bishnoi on Shubman Gill
“Two Australian coaches, Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer, were also sitting there but no one bought him. They might have bought David Warner the player but maybe didn’t want Warner the person. I am not privy to this but common sense says that you will not take David Warner only because of non-cricketing reasons,” Chopra further added.
In the same video, Aakash Chopra also opined that Prithvi Shaw also went unsold for off-the-field reasons.
ALSO READ: Hardik Pandya shares happiness after winning back the love of fans
“The same thing happened with Prithvi Shaw. He was available for 75 lakhs. He was retained for eight crores (before the IPL 2022 auction). He scored a Test century on debut and is going to England and scoring runs but something has changed. Again it’s not the cricketing reasons,” he said. “He scored less runs last year but that happens with a lot of people. Devdutt Padikkal also scored less runs but he was also bought again by RCB for two crores. If you are a decent player and a season goes bad, people are okay with it. However, if you are unable to manage your off-field issues, there is a line in the sand, and it is there for Prithvi Shaw as well,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
