Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra urged PBKS to pick Rilee Rossouw over Jonny Bairstow ahead of PBKS’ match against MI at the Mullanpur Stadium, near Mohali on April 18. Thursday. Punjab will host Mumbai as the 2 teams are coming into the match on the back of losses.
Chopra, while speaking on his YouTube channel, reckoned that Bairstow should be dropped from the team if Shikhar Dhawan is not available to play the match. He expressed displeasure with Bairstow’s underwhelming show and wanted some chopping and changing in the PBKS side.
“If Shikhar Dhawan isn’t available, I am saying tata bye-bye to Jonny Bairstow. You are not scoring runs and were playing at less than a run-a-ball last time. It makes no sense. Then you move away and say that you should try to do something different,” Chopra said. IPL 2024 Full Coverage | IPL 2024 Points Table and Standings | 2024 IPL Full Schedule
WHY SHOULD ROSSOUW BE PICKED AHEAD OF BAIRSTOW?
Bairstow hasn’t been able to put up any impressive performance for PBKS in IPL 2024 so far. He has managed to score only 96 runs in 6 matches while opening for PBKS.
Notably, PBKS coach Sanjay Bangar had indicated that Dhawan would be out for at least 7–10 days after the loss to RR and said Curran would take over the captaincy duties for now.
“I think you should play Rilee Rossouw in this match. He is sitting outside, so you can play him in place of Bairstow,” Chopra said.
Rossouw was brought for a hefty amount of Rs 8 crore in the auction and has been warming up the bench in the first half of the tournament.
Chopra reminisced about Rossouw’s brilliant knock for DC against PBKS in IPL 2023 in Dharamsala.
“You can get Atharva Taide and Prabhsimran Singh to open if Shikhar isn’t available. Rilee Rossouw was bought very expensively at the end of the auction and he is the same player who thrashed them (Punjab Kings) in Dharamsala. So play him and expect him to do the job Jonny Bairstow hasn’t been able to do. So my first player is Rilee Rossouw.”
PBKS are currently placed in 8th position in the points table with 2 wins in 6 matches.