Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has showered praise on West Indies captain Shai Hope for continuing his rich form against India in the ongoing T20I series. Hope scored another blistering knock of 102 runs off just 50 balls in the fourth T20I against India at Hyderabad on Wednesday to help his team post a par score of 247 runs on the board.
The flamboyant batter scored four fours and nine sixes in his whirlwind knock. This is Hope’s seventh century against India while playing in Indian conditions, which is the most for any batter.
Chopra wondered what would have been Hope’s price in the IPL 2027 auction if he were either Indian or Australian.
“If Shai Hope hadn’t been West Indian, and had he been Indian, for how much would he have been sold in the IPL? Had he been Australian instead of being West Indian, for how much would he have been sold in the auction?” he said.
“He has scored a century again. He has been absolutely stellar. I don’t remember a foreign batter going after scoring four centuries and one half-century in seven innings after coming to India,” he observed.
The renowned commentator reckons Hope would have made huge money in the auction if he was Indian or Australian.
“If there is a player like that and the auction is about to come, you feel the guy would break everyone’s bank. He would have got at least ₹15-18 crore had he been Indian. He would have surely gone for $1-1.25 million had he been Australian because their coaches would have kept lifting the paddle,” Chopra elaborated.
Hope scored 278 runs in three ODIs against India, whereas he has amassed 261 runs in four T20Is against the hosts at an average of 130.50 and a strike rate of 190.51.
The fifth and final match of the series between India and the West Indies will be played at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Saturday.
