“Kolkata, I Request You With Folded Hands”: Aakash Chopra’s Plea To KKR

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has said that Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) need to drop captain Eoin Morgan owing to his batting struggles this season. Speaking on his YouTube channel ahead of KKR’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 clash against SunRisers Hyderabad in Dubai on Sunday, Chopra said Shakib Al Hasan would be his choice to take over the KKR captaincy from Morgan. Chopra cited the example of Gautam Gambhir wanting to step down from captaincy in 2014 after struggling to get runs in the initial games.

“Kolkata, I request you with folded hands: I am going to give you two-three options. Firstly, I would like to say drop the captain. You have done it before and you can do it again. I was speaking to Gautam (Gambhir). He told me about the 2014 season when he wasn’t getting runs in the first three matches. So he went to the coach and said ‘let me sit out because I am not contributing’,” Chopra said.

“The same thought must have crossed Morgan’s mind because he has batted 11 times and has an average of 10. You are batting at No. 4 or 5. I am not seeing any great decision in your captaincy, the playing XI that you pick and all of that. So maybe it’s time to get Shakib Al Hasan in, in place of Morgan,” he added.

“You can’t play (Tim) Seifert if you aren’t letting him bat high up the order. So, in place of Seifert, just go for Ben Cutting. Do something because if you don’t have Lockie (Ferguson), you have to play at least five bowlers. Five bowlers plus Venkatesh Iyer is okay but four bowlers plus Venkatesh Iyer? It just doesn’t make sense my friend. Honestly, I don’t get that one. That how can you expect everything from him. He’s doing well but he is not Superman.