Irfan Pathan feels RCB will retain Virat Kohli and Glen Maxwell before the IPL mega auction.
Former India pacer Irfan Pathan believes that five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champion Mumbai Indians will retain skipper Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Kieron Pollard, and Ishan Kishan ahead of the mega auction.
Speaking on Star Sports show ‘Game Plan- IPL Retention Special’, Irfan Pathan picks his players that could make it on Mumbai Indians’ retention list.
“Rohit Sharma number 1, Jasprith Bumrah number 2, number 3 Kieron Pollard and number 4, I’m very clear on that, Ishan Kishan. He’s 23-years-old and has shown glimpses of what he can do and achieve. He’s a solid hitter when it comes to having a left-hand batsman at the top of the order and you can definitely invest in him because he will have at least 10 years of good level of cricket, so Ishan Kishan,” said Pathan.
Pathan on Royal Challengers Bangalore
Irfan Pathan feels that the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is 100 per cent going to retain their former captain Virat Kohli and Australia swashbuckling batter Glen Maxwell. However, Pathan feels that the RCB management will have a headache for selecting the other two players in the retention list.
“Obviously, when it comes to the auction, they’ll be looking for a leader, that’s one thing for sure. The guys who I think they will look for retention, Virat Kohli number 1 for sure, Maxwell number 2. I think the two other guys who I would like to see get retained, because it’s slightly tricky, one because you have guys like Devdutt Paddikal, Chahal, Mohammed Siraj as well as Harshal Patel, who’s been a Purple Patel for them, so he’s been a consistent performer.
“So, out of those four, I would go for Chahal as well as Siraj because they offer different bowling skills. He can give you the new ball and he can give you those yorkers as well at the same time. Yes, Harshal Patel will be a big talking point as well, but if RCB thinks he’s got the skill to do really well at the Chinnaswamy Stadium regularly, then in place of Siraj, they might go for Harshal Patel,” said Pathan.
Pathan on Rajasthan Royals
Former India pacer Irfan Pathan predicts that for Rajasthan Royals’ Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler look certain to be retained.
“Sanju Samson for sure, second number will be Jos Buttler because he’s been in fantastic form, one of the best hitters going around especially if you are talking about white ball cricket, so you don’t want to miss out on that wicket-keeper batsman, who can bat up the order and down the order as well,” said Pathan.
“The other guy, people might be tempted for Ben Stokes because he’s a wonderful all-rounder, but I think I would put Jofra Archer in the same category as Jasprith Bumrah because you don’t find many bowlers like that. So, I definitely would like Rajasthan Royals to retain Jofra Archer, and the fourth one, I am very tempted for Yashasvi Jaiswal because he’s a young guy, who’s shown a lot of potential and he could be the guy you could invest in,” he added.
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