"He has not done anything thus far this season" - Aakash Chopra on GT's issues ahead of IPL 2025 Eliminator vs MI

Former India player Aakash Chopra has highlighted the Gujarat Titans' (GT) bowling and batting issues heading into their IPL 2025 Eliminator clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI). He chose the lack of runs from Rahul Tewatia's willow as one of the concerns for the franchise.

GT will lock horns with MI in the second playoff game of IPL 2025 in New Chandigarh on Friday, May 30. The IPL 2022 champions will hope to beat the five-time winners and seal a berth against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 2 to be played in Ahmedabad on June 1.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener noted that the Gujarat Titans have many bowling concerns ahead of the IPL 2025 Eliminator. He also picked Tewatia's lean run this season as one of their batting problems.

"Gujarat have lost their last two games badly. They lost to LSG and CSK. Bowling, which used to be this team's strength, looked weak. Rashid Khan hasn't come at all. If you see his numbers for this year, they are unbecoming of him. Prasidh Krishna is very good, but Siraj has tailed off a little. Sai Kishore was very good at the start, but the returns haven't been that good lately," he said (10:20).

"Sherfane Rutherford and Shahrukh Khan have scored runs, but it hasn't been Rahul Tewatia's season. He has not done anything thus far this season. One can say that he hasn't got that many opportunities with the bat, but the runs aren't there," he added.

Rahul Tewatia has aggregated 83 runs at a paltry average of 10.38 in 11 innings in IPL 2025. He has faced only 48 deliveries this season, but has scored his runs at an impressive strike rate of 172.91.

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"The top 3 have written the entire story thus far" - Aakash Chopra on GT missing Jos Buttler in IPL 2025 Eliminator

Jos Buttler (538) is GT's third-highest run-getter in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the Gujarat Titans would be severely hit due to Jos Buttler's absence in the batting department.

"Jos Buttler has gone. The top three have written the entire story thus far. The majority of runs have come from the top three only, and a very important player in that has gone. Kusal Mendis has come in his place. He will play as a keeper-batter," he said.

While observing that Kusal Mendis will likely replace Buttler in GT's playing combination, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter won't find it easy.

"He is experienced and is a Sri Lankan. So he will know these conditions well, but it will be his first IPL match of this year. It's not easy to come suddenly and become like a fish in water. It's not easy to blend in seamlessly," Chopra elaborated.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra picked the Mumbai Indians as the favorites heading into the IPL 2025 Eliminator. While acknowledging that the Gujarat Titans cannot be ruled out, he highlighted that Hardik Pandya and company are the better team.