'Three teams are looking for it, but he will not be the one': Aakash Chopra makes huge IPL auction prediction on Warner

Aakash, however, feels that Warner could be great option for RCB with him opening alongside Kohli.

Australian cricketer David Warner has been one of Indian Premier League's (IPL) successful captains, having led the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to their maiden title victory in 2016, and has also been the most consistent players in the tournament with 2021 edition being the only anomaly. Despite Warner's might number and credentials in the tournament, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has made a huge prediction for the Aussie in the impending mega auction before the 2022 season.

David Warner; Aakash Chopra

Released by SRH following a forgettable 2021 where he was dropped from captaincy and eventually from the playing XI, Warner will be part of the auction pool. The mega event will be held on February 12 and 13 with 10 teams engaging a bidding war to fill the gaps in their respective squads. Three of those franchises will be looking for a captain - Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). However, Aakash feels that none will pick Warner as the captain.

"They can think about it but in my opinion, they will not make him the captain. I believe David Warner will not become the captain of any team although three teams are probably looking for a skipper. Even if we leave out Punjab, still two teams are looking for a captain," he said on his YouTube channel.

RCB will be aiming to rope in a player with captaincy credentials after Virat Kohli had stepped down from the role after 2021 season. KKR have not retained Eoin Morgan despite the England white-ball captain leading them to IPL final last season, while KL Rahul opted for the auction pool, before being named as capytain of Lucknow Super Giants, leaving PBKS without a captaincy candidate.

Aakash feels that with IPL being a small tournament, each franchise has an update about the other and hence knows what had unfolded in the SRH camp leading upto Warner's release ahead of auction.

"He will definitely go to some team or the other. He will go expensive as well but no team will consider him as a captain, that is what I believe because IPL is a small family, everyone has got an idea what happened last year, what were the reasons and the problems. It hasn't really gone down very well amongst the players and the franchises," he explained.

Aakash, however, feels that Warner could be great option for RCB with him opening alongside Kohli.

"Whether he will be there in the team, he will go somewhere for sure. He might go to RCB. It's not a bad choice that Virat Kohli on one side and David Warner on the other, left-hand and right-hand, and both explosive."