"Who were you waiting for?" - Aakash Chopra questions Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy in KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 clash

Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned Ajinkya Rahane's captaincy in the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) IPL 2025 loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He opined that the KKR skipper was too late in introducing Sunil Narine into the attack.

KKR set RCB a 175-run target after being asked to bat first in the IPL 2025 opener in Kolkata on Saturday, March 22. The visitors achieved the target with seven wickets and 22 balls to spare to stun the defending champions.

Reflecting on RCB's chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener praised Phil Salt for scoring a blazing half-century against his former side and wondered why Rahane delayed bringing Narine into the attack.

"There was a question mark on Salt's form. You can give a thumbs up with both hands there. It's another thumbs up for RCB along with Virat Kohli's excellent batting. It was Salt's assault. Two balls had to be brought back from Salt Lake. They went very far. One team's loss, another team's happiness," Chopra said (14:35).

"There I felt that what I said for Rajat Patidar, it seemed the same for Rahane. Why weren't you bringing Sunil Narine? Who were you waiting for? They kept hitting but you were not bringing him. He got very late in bringing him. So Rahane missed a trick there. So thumbs down for KKR, thumbs up for RCB," he added.

Phil Salt smashed 56 runs off 31 deliveries and added 95 runs for the first wicket with Virat Kohli (59* off 36) in just 8.3 overs. Sunil Narine, who finished with figures of 1/27 in four overs, wasn't used by Ajinkya Rahane until the eighth over.

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"He has played only 14 balls off Sunil Narine and he has hit 3 sixes" - Aakash Chopra on Rajat Patidar's dominance of spinner in RCB vs KKR IPL 2025 clash

Rajat Patidar smoked 34 runs off 16 deliveries in RCB's IPL 2025 win vs KKR. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra lauded Rajat Patidar (34 off 16) for playing a blazing knock in Saturday's game and continuing his dominance over Sunil Narine.

"I also wanted to see where Devdutt Padikkal would play. He is batting at No. 3. Runs weren't scored but it's okay. However, Rajat Patidar looked beautiful and this is the stat, he has played only 14 balls off Sunil Narine and he has hit three sixes," he said (15:30).

The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that the RCB captain has struck almost the same number of maximums against the KKR spinner as Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli have hit together throughout their IPL careers.

"To put it in context, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, who have been playing against this bowler for 13-14 years, have totally hit four sixes. So Rajat Patidar's supremacy against Sunil Narine came to the fore," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra opined that the KKR bowling looked slightly weak in their IPL 2025 clash against RCB. He reckoned that Mitchell Starc's absence was felt, with Spencer Johnson not looking as effective as the former KKR pacer.