"If an Indian batter had done that, we would have talked about his attitude" - Aakash Chopra on Liam Livingstone's dismissal and laughter
Aakash Chopra has criticized Liam Livingstone for his shot selection and attitude in the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) IPL 2023 loss to the Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Livingstone laughed after being bowled while trying an ugly hoick as PBKS set a 188-run target for RR in Dharamsala on Friday, May 19. Sanju Samson and Co. chased down the target with four wickets and two deliveries to spare to knock PBKS out of the tournament.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra hit out at Livingstone, saying:
"The shot Liam Livingstone played and then walked away laughing and didn't come out to field, if an Indian batter had done that, we would have talked about his attitude. It slightly defines how your season has been."
Chopra highlighted the contrasting fortunes of some of the Indian batters during the Punjab Kings' IPL 2023 campaign, elaborating:
"Shikhar Dhawan's start was very good but after that he has gone down. Jitesh Sharma did well. Shahrukh Khan also did well. He scored runs when you gave him the chance to face more deliveries this time. He wasn't scoring when you weren't doing that. Once again a question is there."
Shikhar Dhawan fell lbw to Adam Zampa for a 12-ball 17 in Friday's game. While Jitesh Sharma scored 44 runs off 28 balls, Shahrukh Khan smashed an unbeaten 41 off 23 deliveries.
"I am going with everyone's choice" - Aakash Chopra picks Shimron Hetmyer as MVP for RR-PBKS clash
![Shimron Hetmyer smashed 46 runs off 28 balls during RR's chase. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/05/3620f-16845562093071-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra chose Shimron Hetmyer as the most valuable player (MVP) of the game, stating:
"Who is the most valuable player? I will again go with Shimron Hetmyer. I am going with everyone's choice. I could have talked about Navdeep Saini as well - he picked up three crucial wickets, Yashasvi Jaiswal's fifty or Jitesh Sharma's runs."
The former Indian opener shared his reason for picking the West Indian big hitter as his MVP, saying:
"There were plenty of performers but the best was Shimron Hetmyer because the run chase had become tricky in the end. Rajasthan had got stuck once again."
Yashasvi Jaiswal (50 off 36) and Devdutt Padikkal (51 off 30) laid the platform for the Rajasthan Royals' chase. Hetmyer then smashed four fours and three sixes in his 46-run knock to take RR to the doorstep of victory before Dhruv Jurel struck a six to ensure that they got across the line.