"There is a slight issue in the death bowling" - Aakash Chopra on the 1 weakness in RR’s squad for IPL 2022
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra reckons that death-over bowling is the only issue in the Rajasthan Royals (RR) squad for IPL 2022.
RR have made an impressive start to their IPL campaign this year. They defeated the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 61 runs in their opening encounter and followed it up with a 23-run win over the Mumbai Indians (MI).
As per the IPL schedule, Rajasthan will take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their third match of IPL 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday. Previewing the game on his YouTube channel, Chopra said this about RR’s bowling:
“There is a slight issue in the death bowling. Prasidh Krishna is not your gun death bowler. Trent Boult is a good death bowler, but again, not your gun death pacer. And there is also an issue with the third pacer. Other than that, the team looks complete.”
Elaborating on the third-pacer problem, he added:
“When Nathan Coulter-Nile got injured, they brought in Navdeep Saini. He also suffered a concussion (in the last match). Further, he has the habit of being wayward at times and can end up conceding 40 runs in 4 overs. They have Jimmy Neesham but the ground (Wankhede) is too small."
Saini conceded 36 runs in three overs against Mumbai, but dismissed Kieron Pollard and Anmolpreet Singh.
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“Devdutt Padikkal is batting slightly out of position” - Aakash Chopra on young RR batter
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When Rajasthan take on Bangalore on Tuesday, Devdutt Padikkal will be up against the franchise for whom he made his IPL debut.
According to Chopra, Padikkal might need some time to adjust to the No. 3 position for his new IPL team, but otherwise, the line-up seems sorted. He elaborated:
“Devdutt Padikkal is batting slightly out of position. He is not opening the innings (like he did for RCB), so he hasn’t found his rhythm yet, but he should. Shimron Hetmyer has been absolutely on fire. Jos Buttler, Sanju Samon (are in form). Even Riyan Parag, the few balls that he has played, he has been timing the ball beautifully.”
Chopra also urged talented young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal to grab his chances. Speaking about the 20-year-old, he said:
“Yashasvi Jaiswal needs to score runs. He got out early in the first two games. I rate this youngster very highly. Jaiswal knows this ground very well. If he gets set, hopefully (he can score big). But he shouldn’t play bad strokes and get out."
The RR left-hander was dismissed for 20 against SRH and fell for just one against Mumbai.