Former India player Aakash Chopra said that IPL 2024 will present Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Shreyas Iyer a great opportunity to seal his place in India’s T20I side. Shreyas, who was earlier denied a BCCI central contract, doesn’t seem to be on the radar for the T20 World Cup. He missed IPL 2023 due to a back injury and will want to use the opportunity with exceptional performances in the upcoming edition of the prestigious league.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “Shreyas Iyer – you are out of the T20I list at this point in time. However, you can come back on the back of a fantastic IPL. If he does well, scores more than 550 runs, which he can probably score, how will anyone ignore him? Then you will say that he should be kept in the team as he is a mighty player. At this point in time, he is out of that loop. At some stage, he can come back in, but for that, the IPL needs to be extremely good. So a great opportunity.”

Aakash Chopra also feels Suyash Sharma has a chance to do well for the two-time champions. With 10 wickets in 11 games at an economy rate of 8.23, he was KKR’s third-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023. Only Varun Chakaravarthy (20) and Sunil Narine (11) claimed more wickets than him for KKR last year.

“I see a big opportunity for Suyash Sharma to just grow in strength and stature. It was the first season last time and he impressed a lot. However, second-season blues is a real problem. So it will be worth watching how he utilizes that opportunity. To be honest, we have never said this previously, but let’s say it now, it’s an opportunity for Andre Russell because his stature and fear have gone down slightly. No one is scared of him now in the IPL. So this season can once again establish that fear if he suddenly starts striking the ball and matches the good old Andre Russell,” Aakash Chopra concluded.