Aakash Chopra, the former Indian opener turned commentator is puzzled with Kings XI Punjab’s selection policy of New Zealand all-rounder James Neesham when he neither bowls in the powerplay nor the death overs for them.
James Neesham played his 3rd match for KXIP against Mumbai Indians on Thursday which they lost by 48 runs in Abu Dhabi. He conceded 52 runs from his four overs and scored just seven runs in KXIP’s second successive defeat in IPL 2020.
James Neesham Is Neither A Proper Batsman Nor A Death Bowler: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra therefore, questioned KXIP’s team combination as he couldn’t understand what role James Neesham is playing in their playing XI.
“They play Neesham, an overseas fast bowler, who neither bowls in the powerplay nor in the death overs. He is neither a great finisher nor a big batsman who bats in the top four or five. So why is Kings XI Punjab playing him? You are playing a player who is not really a match-winner,” Chopra said on his Youtube channel.
Chris Jordan played KXIP’s first match against DC which the latter won in Super Over. James Neesham played the second match against RCB where he didn’t bat and bowled only 2 overs conceding 13 runs as KXIP beat RCB by 97 runs as KL Rahul scored a century.
In the next match, Mayank Agarwal of KXIP scored a ton but the team lost to RR as they failed to defend even 223. James Neesham leaked 40 runs besides picking 1 wicket. He again conceded 52 runs against MI as his team lost by 48 runs. In 3 matches, he has scored only 7 runs and picked 1 wicket conceding 105 runs in IPL 2020.
KXIP Not Playing The Right Team As They Are Yet To Play Mujeeb Ur Rahman: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra urged KXIP to fix the flaws in their playing XI, especially their bowling attack which is short of death bowlers, for the upcoming matches.
“First thing is that Kings XI Punjab is not playing the right team. Honestly, they are the only team in the world where Mujeeb is not able to make it to the playing XI after being in the squad.”
“They bowled Sheldon Cottrell at the start and finished his quota of overs before the 15th over. What sort of bowling is that, you have to get him to the death. Otherwise, who will bowl at the death, Jimmy Neesham and Krishnappa Gowtham with Mohammed Shami.”
“Shami is not India’s gun death bowler and then they give the 20th over to Gowtham, an off-spinner in the 20th over. You don’t even give that over to Sunil Narine, Ravichandran Ashwin or Harbhajan Singh nowadays and you gave it to Gowtham,” Aakash Chopra said.
KXIP started their campaign with a defeat against Delhi Capitals in Super Over. Then they won against Royal Challengers Bangalore by 97 runs but then suffered back-to-back losses against Rajasthan Royals (4 wickets) and MI (48 runs) to drop down to 7th place on the points table.