Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) would buy Angkrish Raghuvanshi to keep wickets in the IPL 2026. However, he feels that Jonny Bairstow could be a good option for the franchise and reminds of how the England’s wicketkeeper-batsman scored a match-winning hundred at Eden Gardens before.
Ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, KKR doled out a list of released players that includes two overseas wicketkeeper-batters in Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. They can have a purse of ₹64.30 crore to buy as many as 13 players (including six internationals) in the mini auction taking place in Abu Dhabi on December 16th.
In a video posted to his YouTube account, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India opener mentioned Bairstow as one of the potential targets for KKR in the IPL 2026 auction, while he noted that head coach Abhishek Nayar may be aiming to have Raghuvanshi maintain wickets.
“All of us feel that they would need a wicketkeeper-batter, but maybe Angkrish Raghuvanshi is your wicketkeeper-batter. Abhishek Nayar went to the UP Warriorz and he is here with KKR. I feel Phoebe Litchfield will keep wickets for the UP Warriorz and I feel Angkrish Raghuvanshi will keep wickets here, unless things change radically.”
Aakash Chopra
“However, they will still need a top-order batter because you have let Quinton de Kock and Rahmanullah Gurbaz go. Among the few names I can understand, one is Jonny Bairstow. He has already hit a hundred on this ground when Punjab chased 262. He will like this pitch. He played very well in the few matches he played last year.”
Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra listed Jamie Smith, Quinton de Kock, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen as other top-order batters for which the Kolkata Knight Riders could bid in the IPL 2026 auction. But he said Jonny Bairstow should be the man in front of them.
Aakash Chopra backs KKR to re-sign Venkatesh Iyer at IPL 2026 auction
In the same video, Aakash Chopra suggested that the Kolkata Knight Riders may re-sign Venkatesh Iyer for half his former price at the IPL 2026 auction.
“Since both Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer are no longer there, you need something there. If they get Venkatesh Iyer for half the money, is it actually bad? Not at all, sir. Even though his recent form is not good and the last year wasn’t good, he is a proven IPL performer. They might take Venkatesh Iyer back for ₹10-12 crore.”
Aakash Chopra
While noticing that KKR may be interested in acquiring Cameron Green, the cricketer-turned-commentator identified a few seam bowlers in whom the three-time IPL champions could be interested.
“They need Cameron Green, but their batting becomes top-heavy by taking him. You need a little fast-bowling backup. (Matheesha) Pathirana will be available there. Anrich Nortje will be available again there. Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee and Jacob Duffy will also come there.”
Aakash Chopra
In conclusion, Aakash Chopra mentioned that there are not many needs of Kolkata Knight Riders although they release a significant number of players. According to him, there are 16 overs of bowling available at the Kolkata based franchise, two spinners, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine, and the same amount of seamers, Harshit Rana and Vaibhav Arora.
