"I do not like your playing XI one bit" - Aakash Chopra on CSK's IPL 2025 loss to RR

Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned the Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) playing combination after their IPL 2025 loss to the Rajasthan Royals (RR). He pointed out that the couple of changes the five-time champions made to their starting XI did not address their batting issues.

RR set CSK a 183-run target in Match 11 of IPL 2025 in Guwahati on Sunday, March 30. The hosts then restricted Ruturaj Gaikwad and company to 176/6 to register a six-run win and hand the visitors their second successive defeat.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener expressed dissatisfaction about the Chennai Super Kings' playing XI.

"CSK, I do not like your playing XI one bit. You are making changes, but change is not necessarily progress. You dropped Sam Curran and played Jamie Overton, but you got Overton to bowl only two overs. The truth is that you need to address the problem in your batting. It is not getting addressed. It once again came to the fore," he said (0:45).

Reflecting on the Rajasthan Royals' batting, Chopra praised Nitish Rana for playing an enterprising knock and taking Ravichandran Ashwin to the cleaners.

"Rajasthan were invited to bat first. How well Nitish Rana batted. He hit amazing fours and sixes. He destroyed Ashwin. 20 runs were hit in his first over. He also played pace well. He is a phenomenal cricketer at the IPL level. He was slightly hurt as KKR didn't retain him and he didn't get that much money," he observed.

Rana smashed 81 runs off 36 deliveries with the help of 10 fours and five sixes. Riyan Parag (37 off 28) was the only other RR player to score more than 20 runs in Sunday's clash against CSK.

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"Why are you playing Overton?" - Aakash Chopra on CSK seamer's expensive spell in IPL 2025 loss to RR

Jamie Overton went wicketless and conceded 30 runs in two overs in CSK's IPL 2025 clash against RR. [P/C: iplt20.com]

While observing that most Chennai Super Kings bowlers performed well in Sunday's game, Aakash Chopra questioned why the franchise fielded Jamie Overton (0/30 in two overs) in their XI.

"Noor Ahmad was amongst the wickets again. (Matheesha) Pathirana was outstanding. Khaleel (Ahmed) was very, very good, but Overton conceded 30 runs in his two overs. Why are you playing Overton? You shouldn't play him," he said (2:00) in the same video.

Reflecting on CSK's chase, the analyst opined that Ruturaj Gaikwad's (63 off 44) dismissal was a huge setback, and Ravindra Jadeja (32* off 22) didn't score his runs at the required pace.

"Ruturaj Gaikwad played a captain's knock at No. 3. He hit a six and the ball went out. There was a slight delay and he got out to the first ball after that. That really dealt them a serious blow. Ravindra Jadeja scored runs but was going much slower than what was required," Chopra observed.

Chopra noted that the narrow loss made the game seem closer than it was.

"When you lose by six runs in the end, it seems like it was close. 20 runs were required off the last over. If 20 runs are required, they aren't scored eight or nine times out of 10. Chennai's batting is not looking good at all," he elaborated.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra urged CSK to include Devon Conway in their playing combination to bolster the batting. He pointed out that the franchise has Indian seam-bowling options in Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, and Gurjapneet Singh, who can replace Jamie Overton in the XI.