IPL 2025: Aakash Chopra identifies death bowling as GT's weakness
What's the story
Former Indian cricketer, Aakash Chopra, has flagged death bowling as a possible concern for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the upcoming IPL 2025. The assessment comes after GT bought Kagiso Rabada for ₹10.75 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. Other prominent seam-bowling buys by GT include Mohammed Siraj (₹12.25 crore), Prasidh Krishna (₹9.50 crore), Gerald Coetzee (₹2.40 crore), Mohd Arshad Khan (₹1.30 crore), Gurnoor Singh Brar (₹1.30 crore), Ishant Sharma (₹75 lakh), and Kulwant Khejroliya (₹30 lakh).
Concerns
Rabada's death bowling skills questioned by Chopra
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, the former India opener raised concerns over GT's death bowling capabilities. He said, "Do they have established death bowlers? We don't consider Kagiso Rabada an established death bowler. We feel he becomes slightly expensive there." He added that Gerald Coetzee falls in the same category and all of Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj etc. can be expensive at the death.
Strengths
Chopra acknowledges Titans's strength with new ball
Chopra also acknowledged that while GT have strong options with the new ball, none of them are proficient at death bowling. "So they have many good options with the new ball. The new ball will move as well and they will pick up wickets, they will be very impressive," he said. However, he also noted a potential weakness at the death in their team due to lack of a specialist death bowler.
Performance review
Rabada's IPL 2024 performance and Siraj's economy rate
Rabada had a disappointing IPL 2024 season, taking just 11 wickets in as many games at an economy rate of 8.85. Krishna missed out on last year's tournament due to injury, while Siraj took 15 wickets in 14 games at a higher economy rate of 9.18. These statistics further highlight the concerns raised by Chopra about GT's death bowling capabilities for IPL 2025.
Batting concerns
Middle-order batting also highlighted as a potential challenge
Apart from death bowling, Chopra also emphasized middle-order batting as another possible concern for the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025. He termed their middle order inexperienced and untested, with the likes of Mahipal Lomror, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan and Glenn Phillips/Sherfane Rutherford. "The middle order here doesn't give you that kind of confidence," he said while comparing it to other teams' formidable middle orders like those of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI).