"I don't know what has happened to Rahul Tripathi" - Aakash Chopra on SRH's issues heading into IPL 2023 clash vs KKR

Aakash Chopra has picked Rahul Tripathi's indifferent form as one of the concerns for the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) heading into their IPL 2023 clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

The two sides will lock horns in Hyderabad on Thursday, May 4. With KKR and SRH placed eighth and ninth respectively in the points table, it's almost a must-win encounter for both sides.

While previewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted that Mayank Agarwal and Rahul Tripathi's below-par performances have hurt SRH, elaborating:

"Mayank Agarwal's form is going fifty-fifty and I don't know what has happened to Rahul Tripathi. They got Harry Brook to open and they didn't gain from that. Abhishek Sharma is playing well but when he scores runs, they demote him in the batting order. They can do anything."

The former Indian opener pointed out that Aiden Markram has also proved to be a letdown in the batting department, explaining:

"Aiden Markram scored runs in two matches but hasn't scored runs after that. When Harry Brook scored a century against this team, Markram also scored a fifty. I think that was his last fifty in this league thus far."

Chopra wants SRH to bolster their middle order by playing Glenn Phillips ahead of Harry Brook. He added that Markram and Co. haven't used Umran Malik properly thus far and that the speedster might be dropped for Thursday's game.

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"Kolkata should get Gurbaz and Jason Roy to open" - Aakash Chopra

Jason Roy missed KKR's last game because of a back niggle. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra wants KKR to bat Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Jason Roy at the top of the order, saying:

"The opening has changed a lot but now I feel Kolkata should get Gurbaz and Jason Roy to open and then Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell. Their batting is looking a lot better than their opponents."

The former KKR player added that the franchise shouldn't play Shardul Thakur if he is not fit enough to bowl, stating:

"Kolkata are saying that Shardul Thakur is not bowling fit. Don't play him if he is not bowling fit. They are not getting David Wiese to bowl. Why - I have got no idea. Now they shouldn't play him as well because you can go with Roy and Gurbaz as your two openers."

Chopra concluded by pointing out that the two franchises have contrasting bowling strengths, with KKR having a potent spin attack and SRH having formidable seamers. He added that the contest between KKR's spinners and SRH's batters will likely decide the fate of the game.