IPL 2020: Aakash Chopra names KKR’s ideal playing XI

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has put forth his best XI for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) going into the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Men in Gold and Purple are the two-time champions and Chopra named his eleven on his official YouTube channel. It’s to be noted that Chopra himself played for the Knight Riders during his IPL career.

As his openers, he picked Sunil Narine and Shubman Gill. Even as Narine’s there to take advantage of the powerplay, Gill is someone, who can play a matured knock in crisis. Nitish Rana was Chopra’s pick for the number three slot followed by captain Dinesh Karthik. Then followed Eoin Morgan, KKR’s new recruit and also England’s 2019 World Cup-winning captain.

Andre Russell at number six

Chopra slotted Andre Russell at six as he reckoned that the Jamaican should get around 40 balls to inflict damage on the opposition. Back in 2019, Russell, mostly, batted lower down the order despite scoring over 500 runs. Only once did Dre-Russ bat at number three and that was against Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians (MI) at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

“At No.6, I have got Andre Russell. He can come up the order as well. He should be sent when around 40 deliveries are left in the innings. Kolkata Knight Riders are almost on par with Mumbai Indians when it comes to finishing,” Chopra was quoted as saying.

For the seventh position, Chopra was spoiled for choices between Rinku Singh, Rahul Tripathi and Siddhesh Lad. Among the trio, Tripathi has the most experience, having also played for the defunct Rising Pune Supergiant and Rajasthan Royals. Among the fast bowlers, Pat Cummins and Prasidh Krishna were his obvious picks. He didn’t go for Lockie Ferguson and Ali Khan.

As Narine’s partner in the spin-department, Chopra zeroed in on Kuldeep Yadav, who didn’t have the greatest of seasons last time around. KKR have a lot of young pacers and Chopra said that he would go for one among Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

Here’s Aakash Chopra’s KKR XI: –

Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh/Siddhesh Lad/Rahul Tripathi, Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Shivam Mavi/Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Sandeep Warrier