"Punjab Kings will be at the biggest loss" - Aakash Chopra on chances of England players leaving early from IPL 2023

Aakash Chopra believes the Punjab Kings will be the worst affected if England's Test players opt to leave IPL 2023 early.

Ben Stokes recently said that he is looking to return home early to prepare for England's one-off Test against Ireland and the subsequent Ashes. The England captain's statement has raised doubts about the availability of the nation's other Test players for the entire duration of this season's league.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that the Punjab Kings will be in the doldrums if Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow opt to leave early. He said:

"If all of these (contracted England Test) players decide to leave, it could be a problem. Punjab Kings will be at the biggest loss because they have the most English players - Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow. If all three go, the team will go down drastically."

Chopra highlighted that Shikhar Dhawan's side do not have the requisite backups for their England contingent, observing:

"Sam Curran was very expensive. Liam Livingstone and Jonny Bairstow are important parts of the Punjab Kings' plans. The team can suddenly become very weak if both of them are not there because you didn't keep a backup for them."

The Punjab Kings have only seven overseas players in their contingent. Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Sikandar Raza are the other four.

However, Curran and Livingstone may not be in England's scheme of things in the longest format and might thus be available throughout the tournament.

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"They will not want to let him go" - Aakash Chopra on Harry Brook's likely absence for the SunRisers Hyderabad

The SunRisers Hyderabad bought Harry Brook for ₹13.25 crore.

While acknowledging that the SunRisers Hyderabad have other middle-order batting options, Aakash Chopra reckons they might want Harry Brook to play the entire season, reasoning:

"If we talk about Harry Brook, the SunRisers Hyderabad have Heinrich Klaasen also, but they spent a lot of money on Harry Brook. They have some lower-order batting but they will not want to let him go."

The cricketer-turned-commentator feels the Mumbai Indians will also be unhappy if Jofra Archer opts to leave, stating:

"Jofra Archer - the Mumbai Indians knew that he will not be there for the first year and still they kept him. So now if he is available and leaves in between, they will feel sad."

Chopra reckons Joe Root might opt to go as the Rajasthan Royals are unlikely to give him a consistent run. As for Mark Wood, the former Kolkata Knight Riders player was skeptical about the England seamer playing the entire season for the Lucknow Super Giants in any case.