IPL 2022: Aakash Chopra on Kolkata Knight Riders' loss to the Delhi Capitals

Aakash Chopra believes the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are in dire straits after their loss to the Delhi Capitals (DC) in last night's IPL 2022 encounter.

KKR suffered a four-wicket defeat against Rishabh Pant's side at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. It was their fifth straight loss in the tournament and they now have an almost impossible task ahead of them to make the playoffs.

While reflecting on Kolkata Knight Riders' defeat in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted that Shreyas Iyer's side is in trouble. He elaborated:

"One thing is confirmed that KKR is not taiyaar. They are actually in quite a bad state. To be very honest, when I see Kolkata, I feel do they know their XI, do they have an idea of what they are doing?"

The former Kolkata Knight Riders player questioned the franchise for making a plethora of IPL team changes and altering their opening combination again. Chopra explained:

"You give an opportunity to Baba Indrajith, who is actually not a keeper, but you got him to keep. Then you get in Harshit Rana. Varun Chakravarthy, Shivam Mavi and Sam Billings did not get a place in the team. You went in with quite a few changes and then you changed your opening combination once again - Venkatesh Iyer and Aaron Finch this time."

Aaron Finch, who missed the last game due to injury, returned as an opener for KKR alongside Venkatesh Iyer, who has been shunted up and down the order. Varun Chakravarthy was dropped after his poor returns in the tournament thus far.

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"I don't understand one thing about Aaron Finch" - Aakash Chopra on Kolkata Knight Riders' batting effort

Aaron Finch was castled by Chetan Sakariya [P/C: iplt20.com]

Speaking about the Kolkata Knight Riders batting, Aakash Chopra pointed out that there is no end to Aaron Finch's troubles against incoming deliveries. He observed:

"I don't understand one thing about Aaron Finch. I have never seen an international captain, a world-winning captain, having such a big weakness, that incoming deliveries take him out. Everyone knows about it but that weakness is still there even after 10 years, it is incredible how it is there."

The reputed commentator was also critical of the batting order adopted by the Kolkata Knight Riders. Chopra explained:

"Their (KKR's) innings didn't go anywhere, you expect it to gather some pace. Once again it was a batting disorder. Shreyas Iyer bats at his position but after that, whoever feels like going is sent in. Indrajith comes there, Sunil Narine also comes, Nitish Rana is moved down - what is the batting order, I didn't understand it at all."

However, Chopra had a word of praise for Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh for taking the Kolkata Knight Riders to a fighting, albeit below-par, score. He said:

"In the end, it was a very good knock from Nitish Rana. Rinku Singh gave him support and you reached 146, that's all you actually managed in 20 overs. Yes, it's a slow surface but 165 runs should have still been scored. There is no might seen at all in the batting."