“I was convinced that CSK would definitely take him” - Aakash Chopra opens up on CSK’s missed pick

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has opened up on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) not going for Ravi Bishnoi as Noor Ahmad’s spin partner in the IPL 2026 mini-auction in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking exclusively on his YouTube channel, Chopra asserted that he was convinced that CSK would definitely go for Bishnoi’s services. However, CSK had eventually picked up Rahul Chahar for INR 5.2 Crore.

"I have kept Ravi Bishnoi's name at the top. I was convinced that CSK would definitely take him because you didn't have spinners, and who would bowl with Noor Ahmad? Eventually, they took Rahul Chahar, saved some money, and went home," Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"If you had spent that money, you would have gotten Ravi Bishnoi. So letting Ravi Bishnoi go for ₹7 crore didn't make sense. It's an incredible steal for me because five or six teams needed spinners. I thought this guy would go for ₹10-12 crores at least," he added.

On the other hand, Ravi Bishnoi was involved in a bidding war between Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals. Eventually, the RR franchise acquired his services for a whopping price of INR 7.2 Crore.

In the mini-auction, CSK picked up a total of nine players, including Kartik Sharma, Aman Khan, Matt Henry, Matthew Short, Zakary Foulkes, Prashant Veer, Akeal Hosein, Rahul Chahar and Sarfaraz Khan

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) full squad for IPL 2026

MS Dhoni, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh, Jamie Overton*, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis*, Noor Ahmad*, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Ayush Mhatre, Dewald Brevis*, Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Rahul Chahar, Matt Henry*, Akeal Hosein*, Matthew Short*, Zak Foulkes*, Sarfaraz Khan, Aman Khan.

*denotes overseas player.

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