"Will they walk the talk?" - Aakash Chopra on whether Riyan Parag will bat at No. 4 for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023 clash against SRH
Aakash Chopra is unsure whether the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will stick to their previously stated plan of batting Riyan Parag at No. 4 in their IPL 2023 clash against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).
The two sides will lock horns in Hyderabad in the afternoon game on Sunday, April 2. The Royals defeated SRH by 61 runs in their only meeting last season and will hope to do an encore this time around.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra named Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag and Shimron Hetmyer as the Rajasthan Royals' likely top six. However, he questioned whether Kumar Sangakkara will stay true to his plan of batting Parag at No. 4, saying:
"Last time when they lost the final, Sangakkara said in the press conference that Riyan will always play at No. 4 for them. After that, he has had a good domestic season as well. So will they walk the talk? I am not sure."
The former Indian opener feels Sanju Samson should not be demoted in the batting order to accommodate the Assam all-rounder at No. 4, reasoning:
"If he plays, it will be interesting because then Sanju will go too far down. Sanju has a very good record against this team, so you will want to actually play him up the order. He is also the captain, so he shouldn't play below No. 3 but we shall find out."
Speaking about Rajasthan Royals' bowling, Chopra reckons Prasidh Krishna's absence will be a big blow to the franchise. While expecting Kuldeep Sen to play the Indian seamer's role, the former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) player named Buttler, Hetmyer, Trent Boult and one of Jason Holder and Obed McCoy as RR's likely four overseas players.
"That's not a good story" - Aakash Chopra on Aiden Markram's unavailability for SRH's IPL 2023 opener
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen's absence will be a setback for the SunRisers Hyderabad. He picked the four overseas players the 2016 IPL champions could field in their playing XI, elaborating:
"Markram is not available. The captain himself is not available. That's not a good story. Heinrich Klaasen will also not be there. So that will be another problem. Who can be their four overseas - I feel Harry Brook, Glenn Phillips, Adil Rashid because Marco Jansen is also now there, and you can play Fazalhaq Farooqi as well."
While naming an Indian top three in the batting order, the cricketer-turned-commentator felt Mayank Agarwal could replicate Ruturaj Gaikwad's performance with the bat, explaining:
"Your top three can be Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek Sharma. Mayank Agarwal scored runs in the friendly match and has come after doing very well in first-class cricket. Ruturaj Gaikwad also did well in first class, he had such a good day, so Mayank might actually start with a bang."
for the D-Day 
🧡Pumped 🆙 for the D-Day 😎
We go all in 💪🧡
#OrangeFireIdhi #OrangeArmy #IPL2023 https://t.co/NDQgFu96XV
Chopra acknowledged that SRH don't have any issues in the bowling department but added that their batting is looking slightly weak. He concluded by picking the Rajasthan Royals as the likely winners of Sunday afternoon's game.