Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra reckons if KL Rahul wants to play in the World Cup, he probably needs to bat at number four in the IPL. Rahul was not picked in the recent T20I series against Afghanistan even though the experienced duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to the T20I setup after a long gap of 14 months.
Jitesh Sharma and Sanju Samson were picked as the two wicket-keeping options against Afghanistan. Meanwhile, KL Rahul had scored 452 runs in 11 matches of the ODI World Cup at an average of 75.33. Rahul has scored 2265 runs in 68 T20I innings at an impressive average of 37.75 and a fine strike rate of 139.12.
Rahul’s IPL form will hold the key to his selection and it would be interesting to note the selector’s call. Chopra reckons Rahul should bat at number four for Lucknow Super Giant in the upcoming IPL.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “You might see KL Rahul at No. 4. If he wants to play the World Cup, he probably needs to bat at No. 4. You might see one among Deepak Hooda, Ayush Badoni and Prerak Mankad playing at No. 3. They have plenty of options available to get the work done.”
“After No. 4, they have Nicholas Pooran, Marcus Stoinis, and Ayush Badoni along with Krunal Pandya down the order. Suddenly you see a lot of depth in the batting. So they have prepared a very good team.”
Meanwhile, LSG was able to rope in the services of Devdutt Padikkal by trading Avesh Khan. The reputed commentator reckons it was a good move by the franchise.
“They made a good move. They had enough bowling options available. So they let Avesh (Khan) go and got Devdutt Padikkal in his place. If you see Devdutt Padikkal’s performance over the last year, he has come as a Devdoot (angel).”
Padikkal has been in good form in the domestic circuit and Chopra feels the left-hander should open with either Quinton de Kock or Kyle Mayers.
“He is scoring runs consistently. He has been unstoppable in every format. I feel he has come to open. There will be a left-handed batter along with him. It could be either Kyle Mayers or Quinton de Kock.”
IPL 2024 begins on March 22.
