Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked the KKR’s probable playing XI for IPL 2025. He shared two options, one without and the other with Sunil Narine as an opener as well. However, KKR are the defending champions heading into the IPL 2025.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “They will have two options. One will be to open with Ajju, with Quinton de Kock alongside him, which means you don’t get Narine to open. You could play either Angkrish Raghuvanshi or Manish Pandey at No. 3, and then Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy and Spencer Johnson.”
“Vaibhav Arora is always available to you as an Impact Sub. If you wish, you can use Anukul Roy at times. However, there is another option as well where Ajinkya Rahane won’t get to open. Then Sunil Narine can open with Quinton de Kock, Ajju at No. 3, Venky at No. 4 and then Rinku, Russell and Ramandeep. Then you go with Harshit Rana, Spencer Johnson, Varun Chakaravarthy and Anukul Roy/somebody else. This could also be an option. He (Rahane) will have to see how many overs he wants to give Venkatesh Iyer to bat, and how many overs he wants to bat himself,” he further added.
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Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra also opined that the KKR’s strategy in IPL 2025 might be to bat aggressively throughout their innings as well.
“Go really hard right till the end with the bat because you have a lot of ability to hit, and if you open with Sunil Narine, you have the license to thrill and just go for the kill. They do have the batting might. So I feel they will keep hitting continuously. Win all your matches at home. The spin variety they have creates a difference in the end in batting-friendly conditions. So their strategy could be to play on flat pitches. The rise of Harshit Rana will help them. He has added another dimension to their bowling attack,” he concluded.
Aakash Chopra’s first probable KKR XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Quinton de Kock, Angkrish Raghuvanshi/Manish Pandey, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Spencer Johnson
Aakash Chopra’s other probable KKR XI: Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock, Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Spencer Johnson, Varun Chakaravarthy, Anukul Roy/someone else
