IPL 2021: "The Rajasthan Royals have been hit badly" - Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra believes the Rajasthan Royals (RR) have been severely impacted by the absence of some of their established players.

The likes of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler will be missing in action for the Rajasthan Royals in the second phase of IPL 2021. While the franchise has named replacements, they don't match the credentials of these big-ticket players.

While naming the Royal Challengers Banglore and the Punjab Kings as two sides who have had to make quite a few changes, Aakash Chopra highlighted on his YouTube channel that the Rajasthan Royals have also taken an adverse hit. He reasoned:

"Rajasthan Royals is another franchise that has been hit badly. Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes - they are three big players because they play in the XI. If such players move out, you have to search for their replacements."

While speaking about the Rajasthan Royals' IPL 2021 squad and their replacement players, the cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Tabraiz Shamsi might not make it to their playing XI. Chopra explained:

"They have taken Glenn Phillips, Tabraiz Shamsi, Oshane Thomas and Evin Lewis for sure. But out of these, you will not be able to play Tabraiz Shamsi, because you go with Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia. I don't think there will be an option there."

🚨 IPL news 🚨Tabraiz Shamsi, the No.1 ranked T20I bowler, has joined Rajasthan Royals as a replacement for Andrew Tye.#IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/ilqGocd8B7

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) August 25, 2021

Shamsi has been in excellent wicket-taking form lately. The Rajasthan Royals might consider playing him along with Rahul Tewatia and Shreyas Gopal as he brings the left-arm wrist-spin angle. Shamsi could even play ahead of Gopal.

Check out all the IPL 2021 points table here.

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"Oshane Thomas is not Jofra Archer" - Aakash Chopra on the Rajasthan Royals' replacement pacer

Aakash Chopra feels the absence of Jofra Archer is a huge setback for the Rajasthan Royals

Aakash Chopra added that Oshane Thomas can't match the quality of Jofra Archer. He said:

"Oshane Thomas is not Jofra Archer. There is no replacement for Jofra, not in the entire world, so here they have lost out a little."

However, the former KKR player did acknowledge that Evin Lewis is a good option for the Rajasthan Royals at the top of the order. Chopra elaborated:

"The gain from Evin Lewis coming is that if the opener Buttler left, he has come. It is not a bad option because Evin Lewis is in red-hot form. So this is a good thing for them. Glenn Phillips is another guy who you can use."

102 off 52. Five fours. Eleven sixes. 😮😱🤯See you soon, Evin Lewis. 😎#RoyalsFamily | 📸: @ESPNcricinfo pic.twitter.com/5dJi025cZ9

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) September 12, 2021

Lewis has smashed 343 runs at an excellent strike rate of 158.79 in the nine matches he has played in the CPL. He will hope to carry the rich vein of form in the IPL 2021 as well.