Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has said that KL Rahul will not have an excuse if he doesn’t play his aggressive game for the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022. Lucknow-based franchise picked him in the draft ahead of the IPL 2022 auction and later named him the captain as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said: “Rahul has a clean slate like Hardik Pandya. But Rahul’s big challenge will be that he was playing slow for Punjab Kings because the team was like that. Now the team would have been picked after asking you. Tell how good a captain you are because you don’t have an excuse now, there is no story now. Now play freely. This is now or never, do or die. This is what matters, Gautam Gambhir and Andy Flower will be there, two good brains. You are a good captain, you are a phenomenal player, get the best out of yourself.”
Aakash Chopra also added that KL Rahul is Team India’s key player as he has been named Rohit Sharma’s deputy. He also added that IPL 2022 is the best opportunity for him to prove his credentials as a captain too. He also opined on Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy who will lead KKR this season as well.
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He observed: “Shreyas Iyer’s biggest challenge will be how he will use Andre Russell and Sunil Narine. When you go to a new franchise, matching the wavelength with a new coaching setup becomes a bit of an issue at the start. The team has already been using these two players earlier in a certain fashion. Do you want to continue in the same vein or you want to change things? His biggest challenge will be how to put his flavor in the already existing things because it is a successful unit, last year’s finalists.”
Aakash Chopra has also opened up on the challenges Mayank Agarwal could face as Punjab Kings’ full-time captain in IPL 2022. Agarwal was one of just two players, alongside Arshdeep Singh to be retained by Punjab Kings before the IPL 2022 mega-auction. He was also named captain after the auction as well.
Aakash Chopra stated: “Punjab Kings are perennial underachievers. Can Mayank Agarwal change their fortune? It is a different challenge altogether because he was declared the captain when the auction had happened, and everyone had gone home. There has been a team that’s been prepared and a captain that’s been announced; it is not an ideal scenario. It seemed they might make Shikhar Dhawan the captain because they bought him at the auction. You had retained Mayank but did not announce him as the captain. The feeling that you get is that 100% buy-in was not there at the time of the auction.”
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While applauding Mayank Agarwal for his nature, Chopra wants him to stamp his authority in team selection as well. However, they have made a good squad at the IPL 2022 auction. They will hope to win their maiden IPL title.
“What goes wrong with Punjab generally is that they make a lot of changes. The team is looking good this time. Mayank is a team-before-self player; he will put his life but you just put your foot down that you will not change, whether it is Anil Bhai (Kumble) or anyone. An odd change is okay, but I am not going to make wholesale changes even when the team is losing. I think that’s Mayank’s biggest challenge because if he goes with the wind, the Punjab Kings’ history tells that captains do not stay there for long,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
