IPL 2022: "Time has come for Ajinkya Rahane to be left out of the team"

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra reckons Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opener Ajinkya Rahane hasn't made the most of the chances that he has got this season. In five games, Rahane has scored just 80 runs at a modest strike rate of 100.

The 44-year-old believes KKR need good starts at the top of the order and they need to replace Rahane. However, if they want to bring in Aaron Finch, KKR might need to leave out Sam Billings and replace him with Sheldon Jackson.

Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Aakash Chopra had to say about Rahane's woeful form:

"Time has come for Ajinkya Rahane to be left out of the team. But if they play Finch, they will need to drop one among Billings, Russell, Narine and Cummins. Rahane could be replaced by Finch and Billings could be replaced by Jackson."

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KKR haven't played like a cohesive unit: Aakash Chopra

Although KKR have won three out of their five games, Aakash Chopra feels they haven't played to their full potential. The 44-year-old reckons there is a lot of room for improvement, especially in the batting department.

The likes of Rahane, Nitish Rana and skipper Shreyas Iyer have been inconsistent and Aakash Chopra feels they will need to bring their A-game to the table soon if they want to do well. He stated:

"Kolkata will need to address a few things. In the games that they won, Venkatesh Iyer had some contribution. But there haven't been runs coming from Shreyas Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane and Nitish Rana. The batting has been misfiring. It has been a mixed bag of a season so far and better performances are expected. They haven't played like a cohesive unit."

The SRH bowling attack hasn't been among the best this season. So it could well be a golden opportunity for the misfiring KKR batting line-up to finally find some consistency.