Aakash Chopra talked about RCB’s main concern ahead of RCB vs PBKS: Royal Challengers Bangalore is all set to lock horns with Punjab Kings in a thrilling clash, which is scheduled to start at 3:30 PM IST at Mohali. This will be for the first time in the ongoing 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League that both the teams — RCB and PBKS will be taking on each other.
Aakash Chopra Highlighted RCB’s Biggest Concern
Ahead of the much-awaited game today, former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra talked about both teams, during which he highlighted the biggest concern regarding the Bangalore-based franchise. He feels that RCB’s overdependence on Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell in the batting department is their biggest concern.
While previewing the upcoming RCB vs PBKS game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra stressed on the fact that the RCB’s overreliance on their top-3 needs to be resolved. He said:
“Bangalore’s problem is that they have only three batters and there is no resolution for this issue. In the history of 16 years, there is only one Indian batter who has scored 1000 runs – that is Virat Kohli.”
Chopra further added that the other RCB batters do not exude much confidence. He said:
“The focus will be on Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell once again. They are the only three batters. Mahipal Lomror comes in the middle and Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik come at the other end. That’s not really an amazing batting lineup.”
Chopra Spoke About PBKS’ Batting Issues
Aakash also spoke about Punjab Kings and he believes that the home team would need Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone to be fit and available. He explained:
“If I talk about Punjab, it is imperative for Shikhar Dhawan and Liam to be there because there are issues in batting. They have lost their first wicket for zero in their last three matches, so obviously there are issues.”
He also suggested that Sikandar Raza might have to make space for Liam Livingstone in such a scenario. He said:
“Liam Livingstone can come after Matthew Short if the latter is playing. Sikandar Raza might have to go out despite scoring a fifty. In my opinion, Matthew Short is a slightly better option because you will get a little more might up the order. Shahrukh Khan and Jitesh Sharma can manage together down the order.”
When asked about choosing his favorite between RCB and PBKS, Chopra said that it is extremely difficult to choose a favorite. He added that the chasing team generally emerges victorious at Mohali.
