Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has predicted the reigning champions Kolkata Knight Riders are all but out of the playoffs race. KKR suffered a 39-run loss against Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Monday in the ongoing IPL 2025.
The defending champions have managed three wins in eight games and have a Net Run Rate of +0.212. The renowned commentator noted that the batting unit is not clicking for KKR.
KKR was restricted to 159-8 after Gujarat Titans posted a par score of 198 runs on the board. Ajinkya Rahane top-scored with 50 runs but none of the other batters could show much fight.
“I feel KKR are out and GT are through. KKR, the truth is that you are not going anywhere. Your batting is failing repeatedly. Technically, they can also qualify, but they will not qualify. They and CSK are standing next to the exit door. The confirmation will come after a few days,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
Chopra noted that lack of runs from Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, and Rinku Singh is leading to KKR’s downfall.
“When they think, they won’t even understand what happened. The direction in which they see might not be the reason. They will see that Russell, Rinku and Ramandeep didn’t score runs, maybe that is the reason, or (Sunil) Narine’s bat didn’t fire that much and they missed Phil Salt as an opener, as (Ajinkya) Rahane has been scoring runs in any case,” he observed.
The renowned commentator said the duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer failed to change gears in the middle overs.
“It seems like Rahane is fine, but the template that they set has spoiled everything. They just do not look the same side. It’s not that Ajju is not playing well, but not good enough based on what this team’s setup needs. You are leaving too much for too late. Venky got stuck in between. When you are chasing 200, you need to run at a minimum strike rate of 150-170,” Chopra elaborated.
Kolkata Knight Riders will next take on Punjab Kings at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday.
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