"When the SA20 was on, it seemed the guy might not score even one run" - Aakash Chopra on KKR's acquisition of Jason Roy

Aakash Chopra is not too optimistic about Jason Roy delivering the goods for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2023.

The Kolkata-based franchise will face the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at their home ground on Thursday, April 6. With Shakib Al Hasan opting out of the tournament, the two-time champions acquired the England opener to bolster their batting, which has been hit hard due to Shreyas Iyer's injury-enforced absence.

While previewing KKR's clash against RCB in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that Jason Roy has swayed between sublime and ridiculous lately, elaborating:

"Kolkata have called Jason Roy. Roy's graph has been up and down. When the SA20 was on, it seemed the guy might not score even one run, he might not be able to do anything. Then he eventually went and scored an international century as well but then he again goes down suddenly."

While acknowledging that the destructive opener could flourish at the Eden Gardens, the former KKR player was a little pessimistic about his success, stating:

"He refuses to come every time. His name was in Gujarat's squad but he didn't come. So he wouldn't have gotten an opportunity if so many people were not unavailable. He is a gun player for a pitch like that but I am not very confident, considering his recent form."

#KKR's decision to go with Jason Roy means they will get Jagadeesan to keep and Roy to open. If Litton Das had been available for the entire season, they wouldn't have needed to make this change. Maybe Das of Bangladesh and Roy of England to open in a game?

Roy managed just 171 runs at a dismal average of 15.54 and an equally poor strike rate of 104.90 in the 11 innings he played in SA20. However, he has been in excellent form lately, scoring a century in England's second ODI against Bangladesh last month and following it up with an unbeaten 145 in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

"It was a strange batting order in the last match" - Aakash Chopra on KKR's batting against PBKS

Venkatesh Iyer batted at No. 4 against PBKS. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra criticized KKR's batting order in their loss against PBKS, explaining:

"The team that played the last match - the batting order was slightly beyond understanding. Nitish Rana came way down. Venkatesh Iyer has also become a No. 4 player. You got Mandeep Singh to open. They even sent Anukul Roy up the order. It was a strange batting order in the last match."

The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons Andre Russell needs to fire with the bat for KKR to beat RCB, saying:

"You will expect Rahmanullah Gurbaz to give himself a little time. Andre Russell was looking good while batting. This team can come out on top if Andre Russell plays a 70 or 80-run knock."

However, Chopra feels the KKR bowlers gave a decent account of themselves against the Punjab Kings. He pointed out that while Varun Chakaravarthy and Umesh Yadav were quite economical, Tim Southee was among the wickets, although he was extremely expensive.