“Like shooting yourself in the foot” - Aakash Chopra on RR skipper Sanju Samson batting at No. 5 in IPL 2022 match vs DC

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra has expressed surprise over Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson’s decision to demote himself to No. 5 in the batting order in the IPL 2022 match against the Delhi Capitals (DC). Chopra compared RR’s move to "shooting yourself in the foot".

Rajasthan went down to Delhi by eight wickets in their previous match at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Sent into bat after losing the toss, RR put up a below par total of 160 for six on the board. Samson pushed himself down to No. 5 in Shimron Hetmyer’s absence, as Ravichandran Ashwin and Devdutt Padikkal batted ahead of him. While Ashwin and Padikkal contributed 50 and 48 respectively, Samson was dismissed for six.

RR’s loss against DC was their third defeat in their last four matches. They will next take on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. Previewing the contest on his YouTube channel, Chopra urged Samson not to repeat his mistake from the last match. He said:

“Rajasthan are a good team but they have stumbled a bit of late. In their last match, their batting order went awry. Sanju Samson cannot bat so low down in the order. Even if Shimron Hetmyer was not there, this move was like shooting yourself in the foot."

Hetmyer was unavailable for the game against Delhi after returning home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. While the West Indian is back in the Rajasthan camp, it remains to be seen whether he features in Sunday’s clash.

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“If Hetmyer is available, they can send him higher in the order” - Aakash Chopra on RR’s batting line-up

Elaborating further on Rajasthan’s batting, Chopra urged the franchise to be flexible with Hetmyer (if he is available) and use him smartly. He added:

“Yashasvi Jaiswal is batting well. Jos Buttler fell cheaply in the last game, so RR will expect runs from him this time. Also, if Hetmyer is available, they can send him higher in the order, above Devdutt Padikkal. It all depends on the game situation and how many overs are left.”

Rajasthan have mostly used Hetmyer as a pinch-hitter, holding him back for the last few overs. According to a number of cricket experts, the big-hitting West Indian can be better utilized by the franchise.