"Go back to No. 3" - Aakash Chopra to Shreyas Iyer ahead of PBKS' IPL 2025 clash vs DC

Former India player Aakash Chopra has urged Shreyas Iyer to return to the No. 3 position in the Punjab Kings' (PBKS) IPL 2025 clash against the Delhi Capitals (DC). He pointed out that the PBKS skipper will be required to counter the DC spin trio of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam.

PBKS will host DC in Match 58 of IPL 2025 in Dharamsala on Thursday, May 8. With 15 points from 11 games, the hosts are placed third on the points table, and a win in Thursday's match will guarantee them a spot in the playoffs.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener opined that Shreyas should take back his No. 3 position from Josh Inglis in PBKS' IPL 2025 clash against DC.

"They made a tactical decision in the last match. Inglis was sent up the order and Shreyas came at No. 4. Eventually, it worked, and it was mentioned that it was Shreyas' idea because Mayank Yadav bowls short and Inglis plays the pull well, which is fine. However, I liked Shreyas playing consistently at No. 3 in this entire season," Chopra said (10:05).

"We saw him sending Venkatesh Iyer up the order many times for KKR, but he said he would play consistently at No. 3 this season and would deliver, and he has delivered. So, in my opinion, go back to No. 3 because you will be needed to neutralize Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam's threat," he added.

Shreyas Iyer scored 45 runs off 25 deliveries at No. 4 in PBKS' 37-run win against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Dharamsala on May 4. However, the Mumbaikar has predominantly batted at No. 3 this season, amassing 405 runs at a strike rate of 180.80 in 11 innings.

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"It could be a mouth-watering clash" - Aakash Chopra on PBKS openers' contest with Mitchell Starc and Co. in IPL 2025 clash vs DC

Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh will likely open for PBKS in their IPL 2025 clash against DC. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that the Punjab Kings openers against the Delhi Capitals seamers, including Mitchell Starc, could be a riveting contest in Thursday's IPL 2025 game.

"Both openers are uncapped Indians. They will have Mitchell Starc and probably Dushmantha Chameera in front of them this time. It could be a mouth-watering clash. This is the year when the baton has been passed in the relay race. The young Indians have started doing well," he said (11:10).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that youngsters like Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh have come to the fore in IPL 2025 because they have gotten opportunities to bat at the top of the order.

"If you are wondering why they have started doing well, an important reason for that is that they have started batting at good positions. Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and Ayush Mhatre dominated when they got to open. If you want an uncapped Indian to do well, make him bat up the order," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra reckoned that the Punjab Kings do not have any weakness heading into their IPL 2025 clash against the Delhi Capitals, especially since the Dharamsala pitch will not expose the lack of depth in their spin-bowling department. To conclude, the analyst picked PBKS as the favorites for Thursday's game.