"In this team, whom to play becomes a huge question" - Aakash Chopra on KKR's team combination in IPL 2022
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra feels the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) might once again struggle to find the right balance after the injury to Ajinkya Rahane. The KKR opener suffered a grade III tear to his hamstring and has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.
Chopra feels Kolkata might think about getting back Aaron Finch into the XI. In such a case, he believes they might need to leave out Sam Billings, who did really well in their last game.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra opined that KKR can still preserve their team balance against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by using Sunil Narine as an opener. He said:
"When I look at Kolkata's team I find quite a few problems. Now that Rahane is not there, whom will they open with? In this team, whom to play becomes a huge question."
Chopra went on to add:
"Sam Billings did well in the last game so they would like to stick to him. But then, aside from Aaron Finch, who is sitting outside? It is anybody's guess. They can even open with Narine which is not a bad idea because if he gets going then the move will pay off."
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Likes of Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana will be attacked with bouncers: Aakash Chopra
The last time these two teams met, LSG bowlers destroyed the KKR batting line-up with a barrage of short deliveries. Aakash Chopra feels that the Knight Riders batters, including skipper Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana, have been found wanting against short-pitched deliveries.
He believes LSG have the pacers to exploit that once again and stated:
"The likes of Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana will be attacked with bouncers as this team tends to surrender to short-pitched bowling, be it from Dushmantha, Mohsin or Avesh. Even when they have won games, they have struggled against bouncers."
Aakash Chopra added:
"I hope that they will negotiate the bouncers well because when you don't play shots to short pitched bowling, the chances of being dismissed are less."
KKR simply need to win their last league game against LSG to keep their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs alive.