IPL 2022: RCB May Not Qualify For Play-Offs This Year - Aakash Chopra

Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra opined that Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won’t qualify for the IPL 2022 playoffs this year.

If at all there is a most anticipated thing on the earth currently then it has to be RCB’s elusive IPL title. Every year there is a ray of hope amongst loyal fans of the club who are also regarded as the ‘RCBians’.

RCB may not qualify this year: Aakash Chopra

In the last two years, RCB were tremendous in the league stage with their performance but the Virat Kohli-led side was eliminated in the playoffs by Sunrisers Hyderabad (in 2020) and Kolkata Knight Riders (in 2021).

South Africa international star Faf du Plessis’ appointment as the new captain of the team could pin the fans’ hopes to quench their thirst for a cup.

However, Chopra, who played seven IPL matches for KKR and RR, is of the opinion that RCB might not make it through the knockout stage.

“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,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“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. The lower middle-order woes that were there before are still there,” he added.

Glenn Maxwell is a high-risk player: Aakash Chopra

Apart from Kohli, RCB also retained Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj ahead of IPL 2022 auction.

Maxwell, who was bought by RCB for a whopping price of INR 14.25 crore in IPL 2021 auctions, was phenomenal with both bat and the ball throughout the last season.

The Melbourne Stars skipper had a dismal season with Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in IPL 2020 in UAE where he amassed just 108 runs from 13 matches at an average of 15.42.

Maxwell went under a massive transformation since he joined RCB last year. The Australian player scored 513 runs in 15 matches at a strike rate of 144.10.

Despite Maxwell’s stellar performance last year, Chopra called him a high-risk player for any team.

“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 said.

RCB will play their first match of the upcoming season against Punjab Kings on March 27 in Navi Mumbai.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Ravi Shastri Opines On Virat Kohli’s Batting Position In RCB’s Lineup