"10-crores investment and he was carrying drinks" - Aakash Chopra questions KKR's acquisition and utilization of Lockie Ferguson

Aakash Chopra has questioned the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) about their thought process while acquiring Lockie Ferguson at an exorbitant price.

KKR traded in Ferguson for ₹10 crores from the Gujarat Titans ahead of the IPL 2023 auction. However, the New Zealand pacer played only three games for the franchise in the recently concluded edition of the Indian Premier League.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra delved into the performances of some of the big-ticket buys in IPL 2023. Regarding Ferguson, he said:

"When I think about Lockie Ferguson, I feel you didn't utilize him well. Did you? You didn't because you invested 10 crores in him. You started with Tim Southee first, then you played Lockie Ferguson for two or three matches and after that, you didn't play him at all. 10-crores investment and he was carrying drinks."

The former Indian opener pointed out that the Kolkata Knight Riders were forced to play two overseas top-order batters for the majority of the tournament:

"When you saw your team, you didn't realize that you have no one at the top. So you will have to play Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Jason Roy, or else you will play Litton Das. If Shakib Al Hasan was there, you would have played him as well."

Chopra believes KKR erred in spending huge bucks for Ferguson, reasoning:

"This is your top order and you have never dropped Andre Russell and Sunil Narine until today. So if this is your batting lineup and bowling, what was the gain in spending 10 crores on Lockie Ferguson? The player is very good but it doesn't matter if you don't play him."

Ferguson picked up just a solitary wicket in the three matches he played for KKR in IPL 2023. He was also extremely expensive, conceding an average of 12.52 runs per over.

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"Is Jason Holder a death bowler?" - Aakash Chopra questions Rajasthan Royals' thinking while acquiring the all-rounder

Jason Holder proved very expensive at the death. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra also questioned the Rajasthan Royals about their thinking while acquiring Jason Holder, explaining:

"The same is true for Jason Holder. The thinking was that he will do death bowling for you but is Jason Holder a death bowler? He is an all-rounder but did you get him to bat? You didn't have a place. So was that a good purchase?"

Holder picked up just four wickets while conceding an average of 9.96 runs per over in the eight matches he played in IPL 2023. The seam-bowling all-rounder managed only 12 runs at a below-par strike rate of 109.09 in his three innings.