IPL 2022: Aakash Chopra questions Rajasthan Royals for holding back Shimron Hetmyer vs KKR

Aakash Chopra has questioned the Rajasthan Royals' (RR) decision to hold back Shimron Hetmyer in their batting order in Monday's (May 2) IPL 2022 encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Hetmyer, who was sent out to bat only in the 18th over, smoked an unbeaten 27 off 13 balls to help the Royals reach a score of 152/5 in their allotted 20 overs. However, their bowlers couldn't defend the target as KKR won the match by seven wickets with five deliveries to spare.

While reviewing the Rajasthan Royals' batting effort in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was critical of Hetmyer's batting position. He elaborated:

"The team (RR) reached 152 and only because Shimron Hetmyer came and hit a lot, 20 runs were scored in the 19th over. But why did they hold back Hetmyer? He played just 10-odd balls. God bless you if you feel that's the right thing to do."

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Sanju Samson's side had a chance to send Hetmyer out to bat in the 14th over. He observed:

"Why do they do this? It is beyond my understanding. His batting could have come in the 14th over, you held him back, he got to bat only in the 18th over, there were not enough balls. Honestly, it seems slightly a paralysis by analysis to me."

The Rajasthan Royals lost Karun Nair's wicket in the 14th over but opted to send Riyan Parag ahead of Hetmyer. Although Parag scored 19 runs off 12 balls, Hetmyer could have done more damage with a longer stint in the middle.

"Buttler's bat was not striking the ball" - Aakash Chopra on the rest of the Rajasthan Royals batting

Jos Buttler was kept on a tight leash by the KKR bowlers [P/C: iplt20.com]

While speaking about the rest of the Rajasthan Royals' batters, Aakash Chopra pointed out that their openers failed to give them a flying start. He explained:

"Devdutt Padikkal was dismissed at the start. Buttler's bat was not striking the ball, which was actually a fact. When Buttler got out, he fell prey to Tim Southee, there was a twist in the tale."

However, the reputed commentator lauded Sanju Samson for playing a captain's knock. He said:

"Sanju Samson actually batted well. The captain played a captain's knock, you can say that it was a slightly slow knock, it could have been slightly quicker but the bowling was good."