IPL 2021: Aakash Chopra wants Cameron Green or Moises Henriques as Andre Russell’s backup in KKR

Aakash Chopra, the former Indian cricketer, wants Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to go for either Cameron Green or Moises Henriques for the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Chopra reckons that one of the two Australian cricketers could be picked as a backup of Andre Russell. In the last edition, Dre-Russ missed quite a few matches due to injury.

The Jamaican wasn’t in the best of form either in the tournament played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The auction for the next edition is set to take place in Chennai on February 18 and Chopra wants the Knights to have the necessary resources in their armoury.

Aakash Chopra puts for his opinions

“They need a backup for Russell, a player who can do two things because when Russell gets injured then the whole scenario changes. They could go for Cameron Green or Moises Henriques as a backup for Russell if they are looking for fast-bowling all-rounders,” Chopra was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel.

Chopra also believes that England’s Dawid Malan, being Eoin Morgan’s national teammate, has a decent chance of getting into the team. Along with Malan, Chopra feels that Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi are the apt choices as the openers.

“KKR have Tim Seifert as an option to open with Shubman Gill. But they could look towards Dawid Malan. With Morgan as the captain, I think they will have a greater interest in Malan. Otherwise, they have Tripathi and Nitish Rana has also opened a few times,” he stated.

As per Chopra, KKR could also go for Moeen Ali and Shakib Al Hasan as their spin-bowling all-rounders. The veteran feels that Shakib playing for KKR earlier could be an added advantage.

“They could also go for Moeen Ali or Shakib, who are spinning all-rounders. Shakib has also played earlier from this franchise. So they may want to take one out of these four and an overseas top-order batsman if they want,” Chopra added.

Shakib went to the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018 and played two seasons for them. He missed out on the 2020 edition after which the Orange Army released him of his services.