Aakash Chopra picks this Australia player to attract huge bids in upcoming IPL 2026 auction

pritam-santra — Sat, 25 Oct 2025 13:45:49 GMT

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Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra predicted early about the next possible big thing in the upcoming IPL 2026 mini auction. His prediction came during the 3rd ODI match between India and Australia (AUS vs IND 3rd ODI) at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Chopra picked up one of the eleven players from the current Australia playing combination, who can fetch a lot of attention during the mini auction.

Team India stepped into the SCG after losing two matches back-to-back. Before the Sydney match, the ODI series was already captured by the home team, which makes the remaining match a dead rubber for them. But for India, it is a prestige fight. They have to win the match to save their reputations.

For most of the series so far, bowlers were the ones who dominated the matches more. But there is a certain Australian all-rounder, who impressed Aakash Chopra the most. The Aussie all-rounder is none other than Cooper Connolly. The 22-year-old all-rounder has been promising in the series against a power-packed team in India. According to the former opener-turned cricket expert and commentator, Connolly can attract a lot of attention during the upcoming IPL mini auction.

22-year-old Australian allrounder to become next big thing in IPL?

"Cooper Connnolly is going to attract a lot of attention in the IPL Mini-Auction," Chopra said this through his social media post.

Cooper Connnolly is going to attract a lot of attention in the IPL Mini-Auction
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— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) October 25, 2025

The Perth-born batting all-rounder has quickly climbed the ladder to represent the Australia cricket team. During the second match of the ongoing series, he played an unbeaten 61-run knock against India for a winning cause. In the third match, when Australia went to bat first on a fresh wicket with some grass, their middle order was lacking confidence. Connolly then showed his skills and resilience and added 23 important runs to help his team to register a fightable total on the board.