“Among overseas batters, no one plays attacking cricket better than him” - Aakash Chopra backs South African cricketer to shine at World Cup
Aakash Chopra has picked South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen as one of the batters to watch out for at the upcoming ODI World Cup in India. According to Chopra, Klaasen is at the top of the list among attacking batters from overseas nations.
South Africa will resume their hunt for a maiden World Cup title during the 2023 edition in India. While they are not being touted among the favorites, they have some genuine match-winners in the likes of Klaasen, David Miller and Kagiso Rabada.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra named Klaasen [4:15] as one of the batters to watch out for during the 2023 ODI World Cup.
Explaining his reason behind the choice, the former cricketer stated:
“Heinrich Klaasen is not a top-order batter. But, among overseas batters, no one plays attacking cricket better than him. The specialty of this batter is that he picks length very quickly and looks to attacks the ball. He uses the depth of the crease really well to get power into his big hits."
Chopra backed the dynamic Klaasen to utilize the field restrictions in the middle overs of the innings.
He elaborated:
“Whoever bats in the middle overs, there will be five fielders in the circle at that point. One gap will always be there. Heinrich Klaasen is slightly underrated, I don’t know why. I rated him very highly. For South Africa to do well, Klaasen will have to do well because lower middle-order batters can make game-changing contributions. I have lot of hopes from him as he is a very effective cricketer.”
Klaasen, 32, clobbered 174 off only 83 balls in the fourth ODI against Australia in Centurion last month, smashing 13 fours and an equal number of sixes.
Devon Conway, Dawid Malan among Aakash Chopra’s other overseas picks
Apart from Klaasen, Chopra also picked New Zealand’s Devon Conway and England’s Dawid Malan as two underrated overseas batters who could shine at the World Cup.
While the 46-year-old described Conway as someone who has a big appetite for runs for runs, he added that Malan’s game against spin will be tested in India.
“Devon Conway is an opener. He is a really good player who knows how to control the game. He has the experience of playing IPL. He is very good at playing the chip and sweep shots, cuts and pulls as well. He has a big appetite for runs,” Chopra stated.
“Dawid Malan is also a top-order batter, who has scored a lot of runs, but he might be tested against spin in India. Malan doesn’t give his wicket away easily,” he concluded.
The 2023 ODI World Cup will get underway with a match between England and New Zealand in Ahmedabad on October 5.