Aakash Chopra feels that this time it’s very tough for Rajasthan Royals to win the upcoming IPL 2023. He also listed a few issues why he is of this opinion. As we know, the Royals in the last IPL finished in the league but were eventually defeated by the Gujarat Titans (GT), and it’s pretty evident that the team will want to do better this time and would want to lift the trophy.
However, Chopra feels it’s tricky for RR to win a trophy this time. On the “Aakashvani” show, he said,
“For now, I do not see it as a team that can win the trophy that they were looking like last year. This team has a problem with balance, and they are looking for a bridge between batting and bowling.”
The former Indian Opener mentioned that the death bowling is one of the biggest concerns for the Jaipur-based Franchise. He said,
“Death bowling is a huge weakness. Neither Trent Boult is a great death bowler, nor Obey McCoy nor Prasidh Krishna are there in the team, and the team has not yet announced their replacements. For now, Kuldeep Sen is there, but death bowling is a problem.”
One of the problems that Rajasthan Royals will be facing in this IPL is Prasidh Krishna is unlikely to play in this IPL due to his back and health injury. It is terrible news for RR not to have these players in the upcoming IPL.
“Who to bat where?”- Rajasthan Royals batting issue.
Another problem faced by RR is the batting order. Aakash Chopra showed his concerns about the batting order of the Rajasthan Royals. He said,
“If I see the batting lineup, there will be one problem, which was there last year and will be there this year also-who to bat where? The team can get Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal to open- they also did in the final.”
Aakash Chopra said that Devdutt Padikkal is not suited for the position at No.4.
“After that, you can also get Sanju Samson at Number 3. When you place Devdutt Padikkal at No.4, you feel you are doing the right thing with him. But, he is not ideal at No.4, but he’ll play at No.4.”
He also added that Shimron Hetmyer is not an ideal fit for the No.5 position, and Riyan Parag has not set the tournament on fire yet. He also added,
“Shimron Hetmyer comes at No.5. There is a lot to like in Shimron Hetmyer, but Number 5 is a precarious little number. After that, Riyan Parag is also there at Number 6. Riyan Parag has done very well in domestic cricket, but we haven’t seen his fire in the tournament’s history.”
Chopra thinks Rajasthan Royals should give the No. 6 position to Jason Holder.
Even though many obstacles are there between RR and IPL 2023 trophy, only time will determine whether RR can make a tournament-winning Squad. They are starting their campaign on Sunday, April 2, playing against (SRH) Sunrise Hyderabad.
