“The only problem I see is Nathan Coulter-Nile’s injury” - Aakash Chopra impressed with Rajasthan Royals’ squad for IPL 2022

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra reckons that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) will have the upper hand in their IPL 2022 contest against the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Saturday. According to Chopra, apart from the injury concerns over Nathan Coulter-Nile, RR have nothing much to worry about.

Rajasthan got their IPL 2022 campaign off to an impressive start, hammering the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 61 runs. While most of the bowlers impressed, Coulter-Nile conceded 48 runs in his three overs. To make matters worse, he picked up a side strain and could not bowl his fourth and final over.

RR will take on MI at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai in the first match of Saturday's double header. Previewing the game, Chopra said on his YouTube channel:

“RR usually find a way to beat Mumbai. This time, they have started positively as well. The only problem I see for RR is Nathan Coulter-Nile’s injury. If he is not fit, they will have to bring in someone (possibly James Neesham). He was expensive in the last game, but if he is fit, I will play him again."

The Rajasthan franchise posted 210 for six after being sent into bat by SRH in their previous match in Pune. They then restricted Hyderabad to 149 for seven.

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“This looks a brilliant side” - Aakash Chopra on Rajasthan Royals

Although RR have been disappointing in recent IPL seasons, Chopra feels their revamped side for the ongoing edition is a very strong one. He elaborated:

“Apart from the one injury worry (to Coulter-Nile), everything looks fine for RR. In the bowling, they have Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna. In the batting, along with Jos Buttler, they have Sanju Samson, Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shimron Hetmyer as well. This looks a brilliant side. I feel Rajasthan has nothing to worry.”

Several RR players impressed against SRH. While skipper Samson top-scored with 55 off 27 balls, Padikkal (41 off 29), Hetmyer (32 off 13) and Buttler (35 off 28) all chipped in. On the bowling front, Chahal claimed three for 22 while pacers Boult and Krishna picked up two wickets each.