“Nitish Rana has been purchased for ₹8 crore, he needs to show more responsibility” - Aakash Chopra urges struggling KKR batter to lift his game
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra feels that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Nitish Rana is letting the IPL team down in IPL 2022 with some poor shot selection. He pointed out that the left-hander, who was purchased for ₹8 crore at the mega auction in February, needs to demonstrate better responsibility.
Rana, 28, has had a torrid start to the IPL season, registering scores of 21, 10, 0 and eight in the four matches Kolkata have played so far.
According to the IPL schedule 2022, KKR will take on the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. Chopra believes Rana’s performance in the match will be under the scanner. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said:
“Nitish Rana has been purchased for ₹8 crore, he needs to show more responsibility. He is not doing the job yet.”
According to Chopra, Rana must fight it out in the middle. Pointing out that Venkatesh Iyer, who scored a half-century in the last match against the Mumbai Indians (MI) despite not being in great form, Chopra added:
“Look at Venkatesh Iyer. Even though he is not in great rhythm, he fought it out in the last game and scored a fifty.”
Venkatesh Iyer remained unbeaten on 50 off 41 balls against Mumbai. Pat Cummins came in and slammed 56 off 15 deliveries to lift Kolkata to a memorable win over the five-time champions.
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“KKR batters need to keep their ego aside” - Aakash Chopra
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Although Kolkata have registered three wins in four games, their batting has faltered in almost every match. Chopra suggested that the KKR batters need to keep their ego aside. He explained:
“Kolkata are getting stuck a bit with their batting. KKR batters need to keep their ego aside. Ego seems to be the biggest problem for Kolkata’s batters as of now. They need to do some course corrections. They need to understand that, while there is a lot potential in their batting, unless they convert it into performance, they will lag behind in the race.”
Speaking specifically about Kolkata skipper Shreyas Iyer, Chopra added that he needs to live up to expectations. The former cricketer elaborated:
“There are lot of hopes from Shreyas Iyer. He was purchased for ₹12.25 crore, has a lot of quality and came into the tournament with exceptional form. But he is getting out taking on the spinners or against the bouncers. He is a much better player and can score 90-100 if he gets his act in place. Shreyas’ got to find his groove.”
The KKR captain has only managed scores of 20*, 13, 26 and 10 in the team’s four matches so far.