IPL 2020: 'Who sends a batsman at the No. 8 spot' - Aakash Chopra lashes out at KKR's usage of Rahul Tripathi
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has questioned the batting order of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their loss to the Delhi Capitals (DC) yesterday. He hit out at the decision to send Rahul Tripathi, who is an opener by trade, at the No. 8 position.
Aakash Chopra raised this concern while reviewing the IPL 2020 clash between the two teams in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
The 43-year-old criticised KKR's tactic of opening with an out-of-sorts Sunil Narine even after having included a regular opener in Rahul Tripathi in their playing XI.
"KKR could have chased down the 229-run target. You played an extra batsman in Rahul Tripathi instead of Kuldeep Yadav. But if you have played him, you should have opened with him. You are opening with Narine and that experiment is not working."
The former KKR player observed that Nitish Rana played a fighting innings, and said that Shubman Gill also looked good during his short but sweet knock.
"So, there was a problem with the batting order. Nitish Rana played well. Shubman Gill, till the time he was in the middle, played well."
Aakash Chopra on KKR's bizarre batting order
Aakash Chopra lambasted the KKR management for not giving Eoin Morgan enough time in the middle, considering the England limited-overs captain's form in the last couple of years as well in the IPL so far.
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"It is beyond my understanding why KKR is not giving enough batting to Eoin Morgan. Their batting order is not working at this point of time. Morgan is a runaway match-winner. If you see his record from 2019, he is batting at a strike rate of 170. And in this team also, he has been stunning in the last match as well as this match."
He questioned why Rahul Tripathi was sent in to bat after Pat Cummins, since the former Rising Pune Supergiant man is a specialist opener. He expressed hope that Tripathi is made to open along with Shubman Gill in the upcoming games of the tournament.
"You sent Rahul Tripathi even after Cummins. Who sends a batsman at the No.8 spot, he is an opener. You need to make him open and he will do well, he is very close to my heart. I feel he will do a good job at the top of the order with Shubman Gill."
KKR were down in the dumps, with their score reading 122/6 in the 14th over while chasing a mammoth 229-run target. Eoin Morgan (44 runs off 18 balls) and Rahul Tripathi (36 runs off 16 deliveries) waged a valiant war, but it turned to be a bridge too far to cross in the end.