"Will they be able to make a place for him in the XI?" - Aakash Chopra on Gujarat Titans' acquisitions in IPL 2026 auction

Former India player Aakash Chopra has expressed surprise about the Gujarat Titans' (GT) acquisition of Jason Holder at the IPL 2026 auction. He wondered whether the IPL 2022 champions would be able to accommodate the West Indian all-rounder in their playing XI.

GT spent ₹10.95 crore to acquire five players at the IPL 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, December 16. Holder (₹7 crore) was their most expensive pick at the mini auction.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener questioned whether the Gujarat Titans would be able to make a place for Holder among the four overseas players in their XI despite spending a decent amount on him at the IPL 2026 auction.

"Gujarat surprised me a little. They acquired Jason Holder for ₹7 crore. Will they be able to make a place for him in the XI? That's a big question. He did very well in the CPL (Caribbean Premier League). He batted and bowled well, but will they be able to play him in the IPL?" he said. (7:35)

Chopra added that the Shubman Gill-led side wasn't able to bolster their middle-order batting at the auction.

"I thought the middle order needed a slight upgrade because you had let Sherfane Rutherford go and had released David Miller the previous year. You have Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia. You released Mahipal Lomror. Washington Sundar will play at No. 4, but they didn't do much of an upgrade," he observed.

Aakash Chopra noted that the Gujarat Titans have taken Tom Banton as a potential backup for Jos Buttler, but could have bought Jamie Smith instead. The cricketer-turned-commentator added that GT could have done a bit more, although he acknowledged that they are a good team that didn't require too many changes.

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"More than half their job was already done" - Aakash Chopra on Rajasthan Royals after IPL 2026 auction

Ravi Bishnoi was one of the players acquired by the Rajasthan Royals at the IPL 2026 auction. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) had addressed most of their problem areas through trades ahead of the IPL 2026 auction.

"Rajasthan had won the auction before the auction, when in place of Sanju Samson, they got Ravindra Jadeja, Sam Curran and Donovan Ferreira for ₹18 crore. More than half their job was already done," he said. (8:30)

The analyst termed RR's acquisition of Ravi Bishnoi the steal of the auction.

"Then they got Ravi Bishnoi. I think that was the steal of the auction. That was the best buy of this auction because they got him extremely cheap. I didn't think he would go for ₹7 crore. I thought he would go for ₹10-13 crore," Chopra observed.

Ravi Bishnoi (₹7.20 crore) was the Rajasthan Royals' first purchase at the IPL 2026 auction. They subsequently spent ₹6.20 crore to buy eight more players to complete a full-strength 25-member squad.

Edited by Kartik Iyer