"He is not quite the same bowler he was 5 years back" - Sanjay Manjrekar says PBKS will still be very keen to buy Arshdeep Singh in IPL 2025 auction

Sanjay Manjrekar reckons the Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be eager to reacquire Arshdeep Singh at the IPL 2025 auction. However, the former India batter believes the left-arm seamer is not quite the same bowler he was five years ago.

With 19 scalps in 14 innings, Arshdeep was PBKS' second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2024. He also recently became India's highest wicket-taking seamer in T20Is. However, the Punjab-based franchise released him and retained only two uncapped players - Shashank Singh (₹5.5 crore) and Prabhsimran Singh (₹4 crore) - ahead of the auction.

On the Star Sports show 'Game Plan', Sanjay Manjrekar and Sunil Gavaskar reflected on some of the seamers who might attract huge bids at the IPL 2025 auction. As for Arshdeep, Manjrekar said:

"The idea (behind releasing Arshdeep) is for them to have some freedom and there is nothing Arshdeep Singh has done that wrong for them to suddenly not be interested. I think he is still a bowler that can make an impact with the new ball plus bowl at the death. He is not quite the same bowler he was five years back when he made a name for himself, but Punjab Kings would be very keen to have him."

The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Mohammed Shami might not be as expensive as earlier.

"He (Shami) is a big-match player and he has got class. But I see the price tag coming down a little bit because of the injury concerns. You wonder because it has been such a long sort of comeback to fitness that most franchises would be slightly wary despite Shami's ability," Manjrekar reasoned.

Shami, who has been released by the Gujarat Titans (GT), was the Purple Cap winner in IPL 2023, taking 28 wickets in 17 innings. However, he missed IPL 2024 due to an ankle injury sustained during last year's ODI World Cup and has played only one competitive game since his return.

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"KKR would want him back in the team" - Sunil Gavaskar on Mitchell Starc heading into IPL 2025 auction

The Kolkata Knight Riders released Mitchell Starc ahead of the IPL 2025 auction. [P/C: iplt20.com]

In the same show, Sunil Gavaskar opined that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) would look to reacquire Mitchell Starc at the IPL 2025 auction. He added that the left-arm seamer is likely to be sold relatively cheaper than last time.

"KKR would want him (Starc) back in the team because you want the winning combination as much as possible. But I am not too sure that he will go for the kind of record price that he went for in the previous auction," he said.

The former India captain added that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will potentially look to reacquire Trent Boult at the IPL 2025 auction.

"Trent Boult is one of those bowlers who gets you a wicket in the first over. So clearly I think he will be in demand but I do believe that Rajasthan Royals will go for him again. Again it's a matter of getting a team combination which has been good the previous season, try and get as many as possible back," Gavaskar reasoned.

Boult picked up 16 wickets at an economy rate of 8.31 in 15 innings in IPL 2024. Avesh Khan (19, Econ: 9.59) and Yuzvendra Chahal (18, Econ: 9.41) accounted for more dismissals for the franchise in the last season but at a much higher respective economy rates.