“If there is anyone who had incredible batting form in this team, it was him” - Aakash Chopra on PBKS’ big mistake in IPL 2022

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra has opined that the Punjab Kings (PBKS) made a big mistake by holding back Liam Livingstone quite a few times during the IPL 2022 season. He pointed out that the England international was in exceptional big-hitting form right throughout the tournament, but the franchise did not utilize his skills to the fullest.

Livingstone has featured in all of PBKS’ 13 IPL 2022 matches so far. He has smashed 388 runs at an average of 32.33 and a strike rate of 177.98. The 28-year-old has four half-centuries to his credit, with a best of 70.

The England batter is likely to be in action when Punjab take on the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last league match of the ongoing IPL season on Sunday, 22 May. The game will be a dead rubber as both IPL teams have been knocked out of the playoff race.

Previewing the match on his YouTube channel, Chopra stated that Punjab did not make the best use of Livingstone’s form. He said:

“Punjab held back Liam Livingstone quite a few times. In my opinion, that was a big mistake. If there is anyone who had incredible batting form in this team, it was him.”

Apart from impressing with the bat, Livingstone also chipped in with his part-time spin. He has claimed six wickets at a strike rate of 19.

Check out this IPL purple cap winners from 2008 to 2022 here.

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“Expected a bit more” - Aakash Chopra on PBKS opener Shikhar Dhawan

Analyzing the performance of the other key batters in the Punjab squad, Chopra said that opener Shikhar Dhawan did well but could have been a lot better. He stated:

“Shikhar Dhawan had a decent season. Expected a bit more to be very honest. Jonny Bairstow was too late to the party to be fair. Bhanuka Rajapaksa was the joker in the pack, who came in and surprised with his performances. Jitesh Sharma was another joker in the pack. He did so well that Shahrukh Khan was forgotten."

Dhawan has amassed 421 runs at an average of 38.27 and a strike rate of 122.74 this season.

Concluding his thoughts on PBKS' underwhelming performance in IPL 2022, Chopra said that captain Mayank Agarwal’s poor season hurt them in a big way. He explained:

“When Punjab put this team together, they would have been confident that Mayank Agarwal would have a great season. But since he did not score too many and Shahrukh did not finish, there was a spanner in their works. They were too late in opening with Bairstow. Also, once Bairstow started opening, Agarwal got marginalized.”

Agarwal has had a horror run with the bat in IPL 2022. In 12 matches, he has managed only 195 runs at an average of 17.73 and a strike rate of 125.