“Shreyas Iyer scores runs but gets tested by the bouncer” - Aakash Chopra on KKR skipper’s short-ball woes in IPL 2022

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra reckons that while Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) skipper Shreyas Iyer has been among the runs in IPL 2022, his struggles against the short ball are a bit too evident. Chopra predicted a tough time for Shreyas against a quality Gujarat Titans (GT) pace attack.

Having lost three matches in a row, KKR will be desperate to get back on the winning track when they take on GT at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Saturday. They are currently seventh in the standings with six points from seven games.

Previewing the IPL 2022 match on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that Shreyas will have to display better technique against the short ball as GT have very good fast bowlers. He said of the KKR skipper:

“Shreyas Iyer scores runs but gets tested by the bouncer. He will face a sterner examination against the Gujarat Titans, who have four pacers in their ranks - Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal and Alzarri Joseph as well. He can expect more bouncers. DY Patil is a big stadium. He will be asked some tough questions for sure.”

The 27-year-old top-scored for the franchise in their match against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). He smashed 85 off 51 before being trapped lbw by Yuzvendra Chahal. Kolkata went down by seven runs while chasing 218.

Analyzing Kolkata’s weaknesses, he claimed that the team’s balance seems a little bit off at the moment. He elaborated:

“Venkatesh Iyer has not been scoring runs. In the last match, he was sent into bat in the middle-order. Is that the right place for him to bat? Shreyas and Nitish Rana have been inconsistent. Rana has played one good innings, but nothing there otherwise. Also, I’m not a 100 percent certain about Aaron Finch scoring against this bowling line-up.”

The 44-year-old pointed out the issues in KKR's bowling and added:

“Varun Chakravarthy’s form is not visible. Umesh Yadav started like a bullet train but has slowed down since.”

Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy has claimed only two wickets in Kolkata’s last five matches while being expensive on a couple of occasions. Umesh Yadav, meanwhile, conceded 44 in his four overs without claiming a wicket against the Royals.

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“If Pat Cummins bats well, he doesn’t bowl well” - Aakash Chopra on KKR all-rounder’s inconsistency

Speaking specifically about Australia’s Pat Cummins, Chopra said the lack of contributions from big players like him is hurting the franchise. He stated:

“If Pat Cummins bats well, he doesn’t bowl well; if he bowls well, he doesn’t bat well. Now, he is doing neither. He has been very expensive with the ball and has not done anything with the bat.”

Cummins equaled the fastest IPL fifty (14 balls) in the match against the Mumbai Indians (MI). Since then, he has scored seven runs with the bat. With the ball, he has registered expensive figures of 0/51, 1/40 and 1/50.