“Thakur will have to become Lord again” - Aakash Chopra shares his success mantra for DC for IPL 2022 clash against LSG

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra feels Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder Shardul Thakur will have to live up to his nickname of "Lord" if the franchise is to do well in their IPL 2022 clash against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Thursday, according to the IPL schedule. He added that David Warner, Prithvi Shaw, and captain Rishabh Pant needed to do the bulk of the scoring.

DC have made an unimpressive start to their IPL 2022 campaign. They managed to defeat the Mumbai Indians (MI) by four wickets, but not in convincing fashion. In their previous game, they went down to the Gujarat Titans (GT) by 14 runs, failing to chase down 172.

Previewing the match, Chopra said on his YouTube channel that while Warner’s availability is a plus, there are still quite a few concerns for DC. He pointed out:

“Even if David Warner comes in, they will still have to play three overseas players. Tim Seifert will go out if Warner comes in. Anrich Nortje is still unfit, Mitchell Marsh is not ready yet. Whom will they play?.”

Sharing his views on what DC need to do, given the situation they find themselves in, Chopra stated:

“Considering all the issues they are facing, if DC have to win, Prithvi Shaw and Warner will have to score lota lot runs. Pant will have to play a match-winning knock. Shardul Thakur will have to become Lord again. Else, the bowling is looking very weak to be frank.”

While Shaw has registered scores of 38 and 10 in the two games, Pant has contributed one and 43. Thakur has been expensive in both games, returning with figures of 0/47 and 0/42, respectively.

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“Axar Patel is not someone who will claim four wickets” - Aakash Chopra on limitations in DC’s bowling

Elaborating on Delhi’s bowling attack, Chopra commented that there is not enough firepower. According to him, while Kuldeep Yadav is a wicket-taker, Axar Patel is not someone who can run through a batting line-up.

Sharing his views in detail, the 44-year-old said:

“Axar Patel is not someone who will claim four wickets. He is a good utility player and won Delhi the first game (with the bat), but as a bowler he is economical. He needs people around him. Mustafizur Rahman played well in his first match, picked up wickets as well. Khaleel Ahmed is bowling really nicely. Kuldeep Yadav is your wicket-taker, but that’s about it. They are missing Nortje.”

In Delhi’s last match against the Gujarat Titans (GT), Mustafizur claimed three for 23 while Khaleel Ahmed also impressed with figures of two for 34.