Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra stated that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) bought Avesh Khan ahead of the IPL 2024 auction to work on their death-bowling issues as well. The Royals traded in Avesh and gave Devdutt Padikkal in return to the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) ahead of the auction as well. They spent a massive ₹14.30 crore to buy five more players at the auction as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “They had released Devdutt Padikkal and got Avesh Khan in place of him. So they tried to cover the fast-bowling problem at the death. They now have Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult and Avesh Khan. Yuzi (Yuzvendra) Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin and Adam Zampa – so their bowling resources are totally ready. Jason Holder wasn’t able to do that job and Obed McCoy also couldn’t do it.”

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However, Aakash Chopra said Nandre Burger is another good seam-bowling player who could do well for the Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming season.

“On a given day, they can play Nandre Burger in place of Trent Boult if they want. I like Nandre Burger as a bowler. He bowls at a speed of 145-146 kph. He is a good bowler. They have taken Nandre Burger and two or three good Indian players,” Aakash Chopra concluded. “Overall, they went with a small purse to the auction. I feel Rajasthan had a good auction. They didn’t need too many things. They came away with first-choice players. At times, you aren’t able to get your first-choice players. Gujarat (Titans) is an example. Their (RR’s) auction strategy was quite robust.”