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IPL 2026 Auction: Aakash Chopra picks Rajasthan's Kartik Sharma as a potential buy for CSK this season. (BCCI/X)
The IPL 2026 mini-auction race will be on this month, with the player bidding extravaganza only a fortnight away and the auditions of several hopefuls hotting up in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) T20 tournament across four venues in India.
While the squad-building process is only halfway through for several teams after the IPL 2026 Retentions last month, uncapped Indian talents will be in focus for the 10 franchises ahead of next season. Former India batter Aakash Chopra has made his choice among India’s uncapped youngsters, picking Rajasthan wicketkeeper-batter Kartik Sharma as the one to watch out for during the auction process.
The 20-year-old Kartik has been grabbing attention with his exploits across formats for Rajasthan since last season, and even prompted a reaction from England legend Kevin Pietersen, shared by a social media user on X. Chopra feels Kartik could find himselfs in a bidding war between former champions Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders.
“The batting has been overhauled because Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tripathi and Deepak Hooda have been released. Hooda has set the stage on fire for Rajasthan. However, will the team look back towards him? I am not sure. Although it seems they don’t need batting considering the form of the top six, I feel they need batting because they have also released Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra,” Chopra said in a YouTube video
“I feel they will shop for batters. There is a boy named Kartik Sharma. He hits a lot of sixes. He can go to Kolkata as well as he is a wicketkeeper-batter and he can also come here. He won’t keep. He is a Rajasthan boy. He might be the highest-paid uncapped player in this auction. He might go to them. There is a strong possibility,” he added.
India spin legend R Ashwin had also recently praised Kartik’s prowess.
“He is young and baggage-free. He is a power hitter in the middle order. You can say that you can bank on his talent. It is easier to bat there, but for a youngster to come in and create impact in the middle order in T20 cricket is not easy,” Ashwin had said on his YouTube channel.
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