'SRH Won't Retain Pat Cummins': Aakash Chopra's Bold Claims For IPL 2025 Mega Auction
Pat Cummins threatens to opt out of IPL to prioritise Test cricket (@Delphy06/X.com)
Aakash Chopra has voiced his opinion that SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) is unlikely to retain Australian fast bowler and captain Pat Cummins ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. Despite Cummins’ notable performance as both a bowler and captain, Chopra believes that SRH might not be willing to invest INR 18 crores to keep him on the roster.
IPL 2025 retention deadline will close at 5.00 PM IST on October 31, meaning the 10 franchises have 15 days left to finalise their core squad strength. As for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the retention phase is extremely crucial as they finally found a winning combination in IPL 2024 on the back of which they finished as runners up.
Pat Cummins' future participation in IPL unlikely
However, commentator Aakash Chopra shared a different and bold perspective on SRH’s retention strategy. In his YouTube video, Chopra claimed that Pat Cummins’ possible unavailability might force SRH to dump him in the mega auction as INR 18 crore is too big a price to pay for his retention, although they bought him for INR 20.50 crore in IPL 2024 mini-auction.
Chopra noted that several international players, including Mitchell Starc, have opted out of the IPL in the past, and Cummins could potentially follow a similar path. Given the demands of international cricket and his leadership role with the Australian team, Cummins might decide to take a break from IPL.
"Although he even added that he hasn't ever missed, he has never gone back after putting his name in the auction. However, Mitchell Starc and other players have gone. I feel the SunRisers Hyderabad won't retain him. They won't give him 18 crores. I am getting a feeling like that although he bowled and captained well," Chopra said.
Not only that but there is also the possibility, according to Aakash Chopra, that Pat Cummins may not even enter the auction for IPL 2025, opting to focus on Test cricket or take a break from the league.
"He is going to be released and he might not put his name in the auction as well. That is also a real possibility, that whether you want to come after six months because you have taken a franchise to the final. You may not want to actually be retained. You may want to go," he added.
SRH likely to part ways with Bhuvi and two more stars
In an interesting update from Sports Yaari, SRH is mulling the release of pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, South Africa captain Aiden Markram, and speed gun Umran Malik ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. A maximum of 6 retentions are permissible, and SRH is likely to prioritise Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, and Nitish Reddy’s retentions.
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