Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has added that the Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) overseas players have consistently let them down in the ongoing IPL season. However, PBKS were bowled out for 142 after opting to bat first against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Mullanpur on Sunday, April 21. GT then chased down the target with three wickets and five balls to spare as well.
Reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “When you came to bat, you were unable to play spin. The truth is that you surrendered against spin, whether it was Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad or Rashid Khan. You didn’t have any idea. Please hire your overseas recruits carefully next time because your overseas recruits are letting you down day after day after day. It started with Jonny Bairstow and you can see Rilee Rossouw now or Liam Livingstone after that. If you have to play overseas players in India, they have to play spin better but they didn’t have a clue. Extremely ordinary batting.”
However, the Punjab Kings were reduced to 99/7, with Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Rilee Rossouw scoring 35 runs between them
before falling prey to spin. Harpreet Brar’s 12-ball 29 took them to a good total, which wasn’t enough as well. Aakash Chopra also questioned the Punjab Kings for not including Rahul Chahar in their playing XI on a spin-friendly pitch.
“Then you also ask one more question. Why didn’t you play Rahul Chahar when you knew the pitch was going to turn? The opposing team played three spinners and all three were economical and picked up wickets as well – seven wickets between the three spinners. You had two spinners and one of them was Liam Livingstone,” he shared.
While talking about the Gujarat Titans’ chase, he also criticized Shubman Gill for throwing away his wicket with a poor shot.
“Let’s be fair, they made a match of it. They dismissed Wriddhiman Saha at the start. Shubman Gill was playing well but played a bad shot to get out. You could have gone after finishing the game. David Miller isn’t scoring runs at all. When Sai Sudharsan got out to Sam Curran’s ball, the match opened up suddenly. Ultimately Rahul Tewatia came. I find him a very interesting player. Some players have the power to hit sixes. He doesn’t have that power but he converts his weakness into his strength. He says he has the cricketing smarts to play the field and the situation, pick his bowlers, and choose the right option at the right time. That makes Rahul Tewatia the player he is,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
