Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra said that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) second retention ahead of the IPL 2025 auction should be the talented player Cameron Green, with Virat Kohli being the first. He also added that the Australian all-rounder can be an asset for the franchise with both bat and ball as well. However, RCB traded in Green from the Mumbai Indians (MI) ahead of the IPL 2024 auction.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “Without a shadow of doubt, the first retention for 18 crores has to be Virat Kohli. Just like MSD and CSK are synonyms, RCB is equal to Kohli, it’s the same. This player has never changed his franchise. So first retention, 18 crores, done. For the second retention, my personal vote would have been for Cameron Green. The ground you have and the type of skills he has, I will start making him open, and he will give me overs as well. He has a fantastic future ahead of him and he is a gun player.”
However, Aakash Chopra also added that Green’s injury issues could force RCB to think otherwise. Green scored 255 runs at a strike rate of 143.25 in 12 innings in IPL 2024. He also picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 8.61 in 35.1 overs as well.
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“He deserves to be retained for 14 crores. I will say you should keep him. If you play him all matches, he will win you at least three matches. However, there is an injury concern. There is an ongoing back issue and there is a question whether he will be able to play the Border-Gavaskar Trophy also or not. So that becomes a bit of an issue, or else Cameron Green would be my second choice,” he further added.
In the same video, Aakash Chopra also shared that Rajat Patidar should be RCB’s third retention, guessing that they keep Cameron Green as the second.
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“My third choice will be Rajat Patidar. I will say you should retain him because he has done well for RCB and has also changed their fortunes. When you go into the auction, you won’t find Indian batters. Only one or two might come, so you will have to retain Indian batters. Rajat Patidar in 11 crores is not a bad deal. I will stop there for capped players. I am not thinking about Faf du Plessis. I am not thinking about Glenn Maxwell. In fact, since the next retention will be for 18 crores, I am not thinking about Siraj as well. Let him go. Akash Deep – let him go,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
