Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah (Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: Arshdeep Singh was the most expensive pacer to be sold at the two-day Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction in Jeddah last week as Punjab Kings shelled out a whopping Rs 18 crore for the left-arm quick.
Despite not being retained by the franchise ahead of the auction, Punjab went big for Arshdeep and snatched the 25-year-old from Sunrisers Hyderabad using their RTM card.
And former India opener Aakash Chopra has labelled Punjab’s Arshdeep move a terrific one as his wicket-taking capabilities have even surpassed the likes of India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in the shortest format.
The left-arm pacer has turned into a lethal weapon for India in the last couple of years and recently Arshdeep also surpassed Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to become country’s second-highest wicket taker in T20Is.
Chopra acknowledged the fact that Arshdeep remains expensive in the shortest format but it is his wicket-taking prowess that separates him from the others.
“They said at the start that they wanted Arshdeep for Rs 18 crore. They would have spent that much only had they retained him. He is a Punjabi and will remain with the Punjabis, and he is very good,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“New ball, old ball, Indian fast bowler. If someone is able to do that consistently after Bumrah, it’s Arshdeep. In fact, he has run ahead of even Bumrah in terms of wicket-taking prowess (in T20Is). He remains a little expensive but has run ahead of him because he is a wicket-taker,” Chopra added.

Chopra also lauded Punjab’s buy of star leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who was bought for Rs 18 crore and equalled Arshdeep’s record of most expensive Indan bowler in the history of IPL auction.
Chahal is the highest wicket-taker in the IPL and for India in T20Is, and Chopra labeled the 34-year-old spinner as India’s current best leg-spinner.
“Yuzi Chahal – Rs 18 crore. He kept going very far, and we were gobsmacked about how far Yuzi would go. Spinners don’t get that much money. They get it at times, Rashid Khan has been retained for as much, but Rashid is only one. He became very rich – Rs 18 crore. We are very happy because he is India’s best leg-spinner. There is no doubt about that,” Chopra said.
Despite shelling out hefty sums on Arshdeep and Chahal, Punjab’s biggest buy at the auction turned out to be Shreyas Iyer, for whom they spent Rs 26.75 crore. With that, Shreyas also became the second biggest buy ever in IPL after Rishabh Pant, who was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for a record Rs 27 crore.