IPL 2022: Aakash Chopra Believes Gujarat Titans Benefits From The Absence Of Big Names

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes the Gujarat Titans (GT) benefitted immensely from the absence of star players in their inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL 2022) season. Chopra believes that the existence of big names can sometimes overwhelm others.

Gujarat, led by Hardik Pandya, became the first team to reach the IPL 2022 final after defeating the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by seven wickets in Qualifier 1. Previously, they also won the league stage, winning 10 of 14 matches in their inaugural IPL season.

Aakash Chopra lauded Gujarat’s team atmosphere, saying: “The team culture is friendlier if there are no big names. There is also no celebrity culture in which people say, ‘Kohli will score runs or ABD will score runs.’

“When this occurs, the other players may begin to feel inadequate. It does happen on teams with Chris Gayle, Jos Buttler, or KL Rahul. In GT, on the other hand, everyone is a match-winner.”

Gujarat captain Hardik is the franchise’s leading run-scorer in IPL 2022. He has 453 runs in 14 matches at a strike rate of 132.84 and an average of 45.30.

‘RCB are not favorites to win the IPL in 2022’: Aakash Chopra

Since GT is one of the heavy favorites to win the IPL in the year, some experts, such as former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, believe this may be RCB’s year in the T20 league.

Despite acknowledging that they have found a comfortable tempo, Aakash Chopra believes that winning the competition will be difficult for Bangalore. He said:

“RCB are not favourites to win the IPL in 2022. They’ll need to come out on top of tonight’s game, followed by another. It is difficult to win three consecutive games.

“They will not win if Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Glenn Maxwell do not attend the party. They have dynamism, but the game against RR will be a close one.”

Also Read: RR vs RCB: The Eliminator Started Late, There Was Not A Lot Of Sleep For Us – Faf du Plessis Ahead Of Qualifier 2