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Ahead of the clash between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the Indian Premier League, former India opener Aakash Chopra opined that if wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul wants to play the upcoming T20 World Cup then he has to bat lower down the order rather than opening the innings.
The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies begins on June 1. India will be in action on June 5 when they take on Ireland before attention shifts to the high-octane clash against Pakistan on June 9, both of which will be played at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. The Delhi-born cricketer asserted the main focus in the LSG vs PBKS clash would be on LSG skipper Rahul. "The focus will once again be on KL Rahul. If you ask me personally, and you know that I like the boy, but I am thinking that if he is going to open, it doesn't matter whether he keeps or not," Chopra said on his YouTube channel. The former right-hand batter further stated that if the 31-year-old wants to play the upcoming T20 World Cup then he should bat in lower-order. "If you want to give an audition for the T20 World Cup and want to use this as a platform, you will have to bat down the order but Rahul is not doing that," the cricketer-turned commentator added. In the end, theformer cricketer said that Rahul is the captain of the side and it's good for him as well as for his franchise if he score runs consistently. "If Rahul is going to bat at the top only, from that game point of view and a 600-run season point of view, the focus will once again be on him because he is the captain, and it will be better if he scores runs," the 46-year-old concluded. Coming to IPL 2024, LSG suffered a 20-run defeat to RR in their opening game of this year's IPL. KL Rahul-led LSG is currently languishing in the tenth spot with no points and a net run rate of -1.000 after its loss in the previous game. The fixture between PBKS and LSG will be hosted at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday. Both teams will go into the match on the back of losses in their previous games against the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). LSG squad for IPL 2024: Quinton de Kock, KL Rahul (wk/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Krunal Pandya, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Naveen-ul-Haq, Yash Thakur, Mayank Yadav, Prerak Mankad, Krishnappa Gowtham, Amit Mishra, David Willey, Kyle Mayers, Ashton Turner, Shivam Mavi, Manimaran Siddharth, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Arshad Khan, Shamar Joseph, Arshin Kulkarni. (ANI)
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