Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for including Ashton Turner in their playing XI for their IPL 2024 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), considering that they couldn’t use him effectively.

Turner wasn’t given the ball whereas he was sent to bat at No. 7 as LSG were bundled out for 137 to lose the game by 98 runs as well. While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “I didn’t understand one thing about Lucknow a little. You played Arshin Kulkarni – I have no issues, he is a good boy, played one or two good shots. However, you are playing Ashton Turner but you don’t get him to bowl and send him to bat at No. 7 or No. 8. So what is the point of playing him?”

“You can play Kyle Mayers. They are saying that Quinton de Kock probably has a slight niggle but Kyle Mayers would be available. So play him and get him to open and hit sixes. That’s what I am thinking because if you have to send him (Turner) to bat so low, the game was almost done,” the former India opener further added.

However, Turner replaced Quinton de Kock in LSG’s playing XI in their last game against the Mumbai Indians (MI) and was kept against KKR as well.

“Arshin got out. Ramandeep (Singh) took an unbelievable catch. Give it the catch of the tournament because you might not have a better catch than that. They were breathing a little until Marcus Stoinis was there with KL Rahul. However, this team is way too dependent on three batters – KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran,” Aakash Chopra concluded. “That much might is not seen around them. Deepak Hooda and (Ayush) Badoni got out, and then however came got out. When Nicholas Pooran got out and Andre Russell picked up two wickets in two overs, and both were game-changing wickets – Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran, that was I think game, set and match.”