Aakash Chopra, the former Indian opener has opined that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) have plenty of bowling options in their squad for IPL 2020, but lack the requisite quality apart from England pacer Jofra Archer and Indian spinner Shreyas Gopal.
Chopra made this observation while talking about the weaknesses of the inaugural IPL champions in a video shared on his YouTube channel. Rajasthan Royals would be led by Steve Smith and would consist of foreigners Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and David Miller to name a few.
There is a dearth of quality Indian players but Rajasthan Royals will hope that Indians like veterans Jaydev Unadkat, Robin Uthappa and Varun Aaron can repeat the success of inaugural 2008 IPL which they won.
Their basic weakness is lack of experience of youngsters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Akash Singh and Kartik Tyagi most of whom are yet to play a single match in IPL.
Aakash Chopra Mentions Rajasthan Royals Have Weakness Due To Lack Of Experience And Unavailability Of Quality Indians In Batting Line-up
Aakash Chopra mentioned that the Rajasthan Royals have plenty of weaknesses mainly because of the lack of quality Indian players in their batting line-up.
“They have a long list of weaknesses. That is because they are searching for Indian players.”
The renowned commentator hopes that 2020 U-19 World Cup leading run-scorer Yashasvi Jaiswal gets to play as an opener in the Rajasthan Royals team in IPL 2020, but said that he lacks experience at the highest level.
“You will get Yashasvi Jaiswal as an opener, hopefully he plays but he is a young kid who would be playing for the first time.”
He observed that Sanju Samson is probably the only established Indian batsman in the Rajasthan Royals lineup, with even Robin Uthappa likely to bat lower down the order and not as an opener.
“Sanju Samson of course at No.3 but after that there is a question mark on the Indian middle-order batsmen.”
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Riyan Parag is a promising player, but said that he is still young and is unlikely to get the opportunity to bat up the order.
“Riyan Parag is good but he is also a kid.”
He concluded that the absence of quality Indian batsmen in the Rajasthan Royals squad could hamper the franchise a lot, considering that the pitches are also likely to assist the spinners in the latter half of the tournament.
“So I see the lack of Indian batting powerhouse as a problem because eventually pitches are going to turn. And at time you will need quality pedigreed Indian batsmen, which they don’t have.”Aakash Chopra on the lack of quality in the Rajasthan Royals batting lineup.
Robin Uthappa is the most experienced Indian batsman in RR having played 177 matches and scoring 4411 runs averaging 28.83 and was bought for 3 crores in IPL 2020 auction.
Aakash Chopra Mentions Rajasthan Royals Have Weakness In Bowling Too As They Lack Quality Of Indian Pacers Renowned For Death Bowling
Aakash Chopra highlighted the lack of quality in the Rajasthan Royals bowling attack as their other weakness, with Jofra Archer and Shreyas Gopal the only major threats for any opposition.
“In the bowling department, other than Jofra Archer and Shreyas Gopal, they have quantity but lack quality.”
The 42-year-old pointed out that none of the Indian seam bowlers in the Rajasthan Royals team – Ankit Rajpoot, Kartik Tyagi, Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Aaron – are renowned for their bowling at the death or in the power-play.
“Because if you see fast bowlers, they have Ankit Rajpoot, Kartik Tyagi, Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Aaron. So they have Jofra in their fast bowling, but what about the others.”
The former KKR player added that none of the spinners apart from Shreyas Gopal are likely to trouble the opposition batsmen too much.
“If you see the spin department, Shreyas Gopal is good but other than him Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia and a lot of others. But none of them are that good,” Aakash Chopra said.
Aakash Chopra signed off by iterating that the Rajasthan Royals’ bowling lineup and lack of Indian batting are the weaknesses for the franchise in IPL 2020.
“So I feel that the bowling department is a little weak and the lack of Indian batsmen is their weakness,” Aakash Chopra stated.
Shreyas Gopal was the standout leg-spinner for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2019 as he scalped 20 wickets at an excellent average of 17.35 along with a decent economy rate of 7.22.
Jofra Archer accounted for 11 wickets last year and was extremely economical, but Jaydev Unadkat proved to be a bit of a letdown as his 10 wickets came at an average of 39.80, and he also leaked 10.66 runs per over.