Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) will not qualify for the IPL 2022 playoffs this year, according to cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra.
The Indian Premier League’s 15th season will begin on March 26. In the season’s first match, the reigning champions will face the Shreyas Iyer-led Kolkata Knight Riders. The game will take place at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The Mumbai Indians had a poor season in the IPL, as they were unable to advance to the playoffs. Rohit Sharma, the current Indian captain, will lead the team once more.
The Royal Challengers are a strong team. The team has made tremendous progress in the last two seasons, qualifying for the playoffs in each of those seasons. Faf Du Plessis and Sanjay Bangar will take up the duties of captain and head coach, respectively, for the club.
Aakash Chopra on RCB and MI
Aakash Chopra made shocking predictions during a recent video on his YouTube channel. The former Indian opener believes the 5-time champion Mumbai Indians will not enter the playoffs this season, and he also predicted the same for the Bangalore-based team.
“I’d say that RCB may not qualify this year. This is what I feel and I could be completely wrong. They may still make it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t. RCB have Faf at the top with DK and Mahipal Lomror down the order. They spent a lot of money on Hasaranga. I was surprised that I did not look at someone like Rahul Chahar and Yuzvendra Chahal.” Chopra said.
“The lower middle-order woes that were there before are still there, Speaking of their pain points, Glenn Maxwell has a good season once in five years. He could also have back-to-back good seasons too, there’s no doubt about that too. But there is still a volatile environment when Maxwell is around because he is a high-risk player,” Chopra added.
“But if we talk about the team, how is it looking? In bowling, there is Unadkat, Basil Thampi, Murugan Ashwin, Markande but the same quality is probably not available here. Rohit Sharma will have to have a great season as a batter, there is no doubt that he will captain well. Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, they have to fly. This is going to be the most important season for Kieron Pollard because you have Tim David, Daniel Sams and all of that down the order,” Chopra concluded.
