Aakash Chopra Blatantly Labels Krunal Pandya As RCB's Weak Link In IPL 2025

The former Indian opening batter, Aakash Chopra, reckoned that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will face a few major challenges for the upcoming 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He noted that the left-arm spinner, Krunal Pandya, who doesn’t even cover his quota of four overs, will be a weak link.

The three-time runners-up of the tournament will begin their campaign of the tournament on the opening day, March 22, against the Kolkata Knight Riders, at the Eden Gardens. They bagged Krunal for INR 5.25 crore in the mega auction, besides going for Suyansh Sharma, as the frontline spinner, for a price of INR 2.60 crore.

Aakash Chopra denies RCB’s Krunal Pandya as a wicket-taking option

One of the strengths, for RCB in the new season, would be their lack of dependence on the top three batters, which has been the case for the last decade. They have also worked on variable pacers in the fast bowling department by including Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the playing eleven.

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But Chopra reckoned that the management forgot to pick spinners in the side, which would be an issue for them when they travel to the spinning tracks.

“The glaring problem I see is the spin department. It seemed like they forgot that they had to pick spinners. Who was their best spinner in the league? Yuzvendra Chahal is the name. They have gone a little light in the spin department. You have two spinners. One is Krunal Pandya, and the other is Suyash Sharma. It doesn’t give me a lot of confidence.” The former Indian opener expressed on his YouTube channel.

Delhi’s former batter also claimed that Krunal won’t be the franchise’s wicket-taking option. In the last three seasons, the Baroda captain picked up just 25 wickets in 113 overs, which won’t be a good sign for the franchise.

“Krunal Pandya bowls tight lines with the new ball. However, he doesn’t even bowl four overs every time. He is a competitive and effective player, but he is also an all-rounder. You don’t see him as an out-and-out spinner. He is not your wicket-taking option.” Aakash Chopra added.

The franchise didn’t go to either Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chahal, or Ravichandran Ashwin.

“Luck is a factor for RCB”- Aakash Chopra

The renowned commentator also highlighted that the luck factor would be a major problem for the RCB side, who lost the final against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2016 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

“Do they run out of luck? Luck is a factor that doesn’t go in their favor, or else if you qualify nine times and reach the final thrice, you lift the trophy at least once or twice. Their women’s team reached the final once and they have a trophy.” Chopra remarked.

He also claimed that the RCB doesn’t have a good performance in either of the Men’s or Women’s teams. Chopra feared that Josh Hazlewood’s injury status was not crystal clear for the event.

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“Neither their men nor their women have a home-ground advantage. They don’t win as many matches at home as they should. When you see any successful franchise, a lot of times you think about whether they play well or not at home. The answer to that question for them is that they don’t play that well at home.” Chopra concluded.

Aakash Chopra Predicts RCB’s Potential Playing XI For IPL 2025

Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, Tim David, Manoj Bhandage, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood/ Thushara.