"If he doesn't play, this team's fast bowling looks extremely weak" - Aakash Chopra says Rajasthan Royals need Trent Boult vs KKR

Aakash Chopra feels the Rajasthan Royals (RR) should mandatorily field Trent Boult as part of their bowling attack in their IPL 2023 clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

The two sides will lock horns at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, May 11. Boult did not feature in RR's XI in their last game against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), with Obed McCoy being their only overseas bowler.

While previewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted Trent Boult's importance to the Rajasthan Royals, explaining:

"I feel it is absolutely mandatory for Trent Boult to play because if he doesn't play, this team's fast bowling looks extremely weak. After that, it will remain spin to win in any case. So you might see a lot of spin."

The former Indian opener reckons Sanju Samson and Co. could play Adam Zampa as their fourth overseas player in place of Joe Root, elaborating:

"You might not play Joe Root and go ahead with Trent Boult and Adam Zampa. That's another option. You already have Jos Buttler and Shimron Hetmyer in batting, so maybe that's the kind of balance you may look for because you are not playing Jason Holder and a few spots get opened up."

Root made his debut for the Rajasthan Royals in their last game against SRH. However, he didn't get to bat as their top three batted the majority of the overs, with Shimron Hetmyer being sent ahead of the England batter because of his big-hitting abilities.

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"The momentum of winning has just completely deserted them" - Aakash Chopra on the Rajasthan Royals' recent losing run

RR failed to defend a 215-run target against SRH. [P/C: iplt20.com]

While observing that Jos Buttler and Samson being back among the runs is a positive for RR, Aakash Chopra pointed out they head into the KKR clash on a losing run, stating:

"Rajasthan's top three have got the form now, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson have got it now and Yashasvi Jaiswal always had it, but they have lost five of their last six matches. So the momentum of winning has just completely deserted them."

The cricketer-turned-commentator recalled how the Jaipur-based franchise suffered an agonizing loss in their last game, saying:

"In the last match, they had won by four runs but ended up losing by four wickets because of that no-ball. Things happen, Kuldip Yadav - 19th over, remember?"

The Rajasthan Royals failed to defend 40 runs in the last two overs against the SunRisers Hyderabad. While Kuldip Yadav conceded 24 runs in the penultimate over, Sandeep Sharma overstepped on the final delivery off the last over to give Abdul Samad another chance, which the SRH batter made the most of by striking the winning maximum.