IPL 2020 | Kedar Jadhav just needs to be more aggressive and play his natural game, opines Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra believes Kedar Jadhav will stand up in upcoming games for CSK
|IPL
Ahead of the crucial clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, Aakash Chopra has opined that Kedar Jadhav needs to play his natural game and be more aggressive. On the other hand, Sanjay Manjrekar feels that KKR should play Morgan at 4, Russell at 5, and Karthik at 6.
Following Chennai Super Kings’ ten-wicket victory against Kings XI Punjab earlier in the week, the Men in Yellow, face tough opponents in the form of an in-form Kolkata Knight Riders. For the Super Kings, they were quite worried about the form of their top-order batsman ahead of the KXIP clash. However, following that, the only worry remains over the form of their all-rounder Kedar Jadhav, who hasn’t yet quite stepped up the mark.
Ahead of the fixture against Dinesh Karthik’s KKR, former Indian batsmen Sanjay Manjrekar and Aakash Chopra spoke about the role of the all-rounder in the Yellow jersey. While Manjrekar bluntly answered that Jadhav needs to step up his game, the former opener took a longer route, suggesting that Jadhav needs to more aggressive and play his natural game.
“Sanjay was talking about just two games, let me make it eight. Dhoni is not going to drop Jadhav for the entire season and he’s going to stick with him. I just want him to change his approach, he needs to be more aggressive and bat his natural game. With the openers firing and the top-order performing, Jadhav should just continue to play his game. As the tournament progresses, you will find out that all CSK pieces are falling in place.” said Aakash Chopra in ESPNCricinfo’s preview.
“They need Kedar Jadhav to step up. I think MS Dhoni takes some pleasure in these things, when people were crying for Shane Watson’s blood, he trusted him. I think he’s going to do the same with Jadhav. It’s another gamble for Dhoni and he will continue doing it till he succeeds,” said Sanjay Manjrekar in the same video.
The other point of debate ahead of the clash between the titans is the Knight Riders’ batting unit. While many have pointed out that the batting unit hasn’t quite lived up to its potential, the others have questioned the decision to send a player over the other. Manjrekar weighed in with his opinion, that KKR need to ditch out left-right batting combination and instead play Morgan at No.4, Russell at No.5, and Karthik as the finisher at No.6.
“Dinesh Karthik is a brilliant player when batting down the order without so much responsibility. For once they should throw the left-hand right-hand combination out of the window and play freely. They need to play Eoin Morgan at No.4 and Andre Russell At No.5 with Dinesh Karthik needing to play the finisher role.” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
“Playing Morgan below No.4 is a travesty and he can’t come down the order, which means Karthik must bat lower down the order.” Aakash weighed in.
Both sides sit in the middle half of the IPL 2020 table, with four points each. However, with a game in hand, Kolkata Knight Riders’ majestic run-rate has helped them edge CSK for the fourth place.
