IPL 2021: 'The Kolkata Knight Riders should appoint Shubman Gill as their captain' - Aakash Chopra

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has opined that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) should appoint Shubman Gill as their captain from IPL 2021 onwards.

He made this observation while talking about the road ahead for the Kolkata-based franchise in a video shared on his Facebook page.

Aakash Chopra started by pointing out that the Kolkata Knight Riders should retain only three players for the next season of the IPL.

"I thought a lot and I feel that there are only three players they should be retaining. If they retain any more, they will lose money from the kitty and will not be able to build a good team."

The renowned commentator named Andre Russell as the first player the Kolkata Knight Riders should retain even though IPL 2020 might have been an aberration.

"The first name is Andre Russell. This year may not have been good but he is a T20 rockstar. If you release him and try to buy him at the auction, he will be very expensive, so it is better to retain him. You also create a relationship with the player and tell him that he is an integral part of the team."

The former Kolkata Knight Riders player picked Varun Chakravarthy as the other player the franchise should retain, with the mystery spinner likely to go for huge bucks if put back into the auction.

"The second player I can see is Varun Chakravarthy. He is taking wickets, he is a mystery bowler and is accurate, If he goes into the auction, he will be very expensive, everybody needs a mystery spinner and Varun Chakravarthy is that guy for you."

He chose Shubman Gill as probably the first player the Kolkata Knight Riders will attempt to keep hold of.

"Last but not the least, who could actually be their first retention. Name is Shubman Gill."

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Aakash Chopra wants Shubman Gill to take the leadership role for the Kolkata Knight Riders

Shubman Gill was the highest run-scorer for the Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2020 [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra opined that the Kolkata Knight Riders should appoint Shubman Gill as their captain with the long-term objective in mind and not continue with Eoin Morgan.

"And I am saying about Shubman Gill, that they should appoint him as their captain. They have to make the team for the next three years. I don't feel they should make Eoin Morgan the captain. They shouldn't make him the captain as he is an overseas player, they can play him if they want but they shouldn't make him the captain."

He added that the Kolkata Knight Riders could follow a similar approach to what the Delhi Capitals did with Shreyas Iyer. The IPL 2020 finalists helped the 25-year-old mature, with the coaching staff handling the majority of the burden initially.

"They should build the team around Shubman Gill if they want to look ahead for the next three years. The way Delhi Capitals did with Shreyas Iyer, gave him a strong coaching staff so that he gets the support and after that over a period of time, you graduate, you mature into a captain, that's what I am expecting from Shubman Gill."

Aakash Chopra reckoned that the Kolkata Knight Riders should neither retain Sunil Narine nor buy him back at the auction. He added that Pat Cummins should be let go of as well.

"They should let Sunil Narine go. I don't think they should buy him back also. Pat Cummins was very expensive, they should release him as well."

He is also not in favour of the franchise retaining Dinesh Karthik, with the former Kolkata Knight Riders captain unlikely to be around for the next three years.

"Dinesh Karthik I don't think will be there for you for the next three years, so they should release him as well."

The 43-year-old suggested Nitish Rana as one of the players for whom the Kolkata Knight Riders could use the RTM card on while observing that the franchise might prefer using it on Sunil Narine and Eoin Morgan.

"They can think about Nitish Rana for using the Right to Match card because he has quite a few years left ahead of him. They might use the RTM card for Sunil Narine but then that's about it. They can use RTM card for Eoin Morgan as well if they want him."

Aakash Chopra signed off by reiterating that the Kolkata Knight Riders need to build their team around Shubman Gill while letting go of Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins and Dinesh Karthik.

"But according to me, the next course of action for KKR should be to make Shubman Gill as the captain and build the team around him. They should leave Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins and Dinesh Karthik."

It will be a huge call if the Kolkata Knight Riders decide to appoint Shubman Gill as their captain. With the youngster hardly having any experience of captaincy even at the domestic level, it might be too much to ask from the classy batsman and might have a negative impact on his game as well.