"We were abused a lot" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's bowling ahead of IPL 2025 clash vs MI

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) spin attack could prove to be their Achilles heel in their IPL 2025 clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI). He highlighted that the analysts who had criticized RCB's spin attack before the start of the tournament were 'abused' when their spinners fared well in the first game.

RCB will lock horns with MI in Match 20 of IPL 2025 in Mumbai on Monday, April 7. While Krunal Pandya, who registered figures of 3/29 in the tournament opener against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), hasn't taken a wicket thereafter, Suyash Sharma too hasn't picked up a wicket since dismissing Andre Russell in the same game.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that while the Royal Challengers Bengaluru seamers would enjoy bowling at the Wankhede Stadium, their spinners might be found wanting.

"They have three bowlers who will like these conditions. Josh Hazlewood will like bowling here. Bhuvneshwar Kumar would love bowling on the Wankhede surface, and they have Yash Dayal. All three bowlers will enjoy bowling here. They will be very, very decent," Chopra said (10:05).

"Krunal Pandya's first match was outstanding. However, his performances have been up and down after that. We were abused a lot, that we were saying Bengaluru's spin was bad and were asked to see how well they bowled. However, in the fourth match, we are saying that their spinners haven't done that well. The spinners will have to lift their game a little," he added.

Aakash Chopra wondered whether RCB would field Suyash Sharma or Swapnil Singh in Mumbai, especially considering the presence of two left-handers in Ryan Rickelton and Tilak Varma in MI's batting lineup. He added that the visitors could alternatively play Manoj Bhandage as a seam-bowling all-rounder.

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"Whenever the opening partnership is good, they find themselves in a very nice space" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's batting ahead of IPL 2025 clash vs MI

Virat Kohli and Phil Salt will likely open for RCB in their IPL 2025 clash against MI. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Reflecting on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's batting, Aakash Chopra noted that they would need their openers to fire against the Mumbai Indians.

"The season has been decent. They have lost just one match and won two. They have won both their away games, and this is once again an away game. Whenever the opening partnership is good, they find themselves in a very nice space. You fall where it doesn't happen," he said in the same video.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that RCB don't have too many concerns in the batting department.

"There is no other concern in batting. I have slightly less faith in Liam Livingstone, but he too has scored runs in the last match. Jitesh Sharma has looked alright. Tim David's knock took you till the end in the last match. The runs were less, but you played 20 overs. We have seen teams not last 20 overs, but that's not happened with them. The batting looks pretty sorted," Chopra observed.

Phil Salt (102) is RCB's highest run-getter in IPL 2025. While Rajat Patidar and Virat Kohli have aggregated 97 runs apiece, Liam Livingstone (79) has been their other principal contributor with the bat.