Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra feels KL Rahul should bat at No. 4 if he wants to compete for the spot in India’s squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States. The 31-year-old is not part of India’s plans following the Men in Blue’s dismissal campaign in the 2022 T20 World Cup.
KL Rahul was not part of the Indian squad for the just concluded T20I series against Afghanistan. Young Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Ishan Kishan have performed for the team in the short format of the game, with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma slated to open the innings in the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States, which leaves Rahul to compete for a place in middle-order
In a video posted to his YouTube Channel, Aakash Chopra discussed about the Lucknow Super Giants’ prospective batting order going into the IPL 2024. He suggested Rahul may bat at No. 4 and noted that LSG has a lot of punch in the lower-middle order.
“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,” Aakash Chopra said.
Lucknow Super Giants made their IPL debut in 2022 and have been one of the most consistent teams over the last two seasons. They rapidly adjusted to the league and qualified for the playoffs in both seasons. Fans will have great expectations for the Lucknow franchise in the IPL 2024, with Justin Langer taking over as head coach.
Devdutt Padikkal Has Been Unstoppable In Every Format – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra believes the Lucknow Super Giants made the right decision in trading Devdutt Padikkal for Avesh Khan ahead of the IPL auction, and he expects the Karnataka opener to bat at the top of the order for LSG with Kyle Mayers or Quinton de Kock.
“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).”
“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,” Aakash Chopra added.
Quinton De Kock played only four IPL 2023 matches for LSG, while Kyle Mayers was the second-leading run-scorer for the franchise, with 379 runs in 13 innings and a slightly higher strike rate of 144.10 and is likely to open the innings for LSG alongside Devdutt Padikkal in IPL 2024.
