He becomes half the player if he starts against spin

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Former India player Aakash Chopra has suggested two changes in the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) playing combination for their IPL 2026 clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR). He opined that KKR should leave out Tim Seifert and open with Cameron Green if Matheesha Pathirana is available, highlighting that the Australian all-rounder needs to play fast bowling before facing the spinners.

KKR will host RR in the 28th game of IPL 2026 in Kolkata on Sunday, April 19. While the home team has a solitary point from six games and is placed last on the points table, the visitors have garnered eight points from five matches and are third in the standings.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, ‘Aakash Chopra,’ the former India batter urged the Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Seifert and play Green as an opener if Pathirana is available for selection.

“Who should be the four overseas players if Pathirana is available? Pathirana, Cameron Green, Sunil Narine, and I would still play Rovman Powell. I would drop Tim Seifert and make Cameron Green open. It’s not right to drop Tim Seifert after one match, but how will you play him as there are so many openers?” Chopra said.

“You want to make him open. Ajinkya Rahane has to open. Sunil Narine is best as an opener. Cameron Green should bat in the first four overs. Angkrish Raghuvanshi is best if he starts in the Powerplay. If there are so many Powerplay players, someone has to be made to sit out. So I would say let Tim Seifert go and play Cameron Green. He becomes half the player if he starts against spin,” he added.

Tim Seifert scored 19 runs off 14 balls in the Kolkata Knight Riders’ previous game against the Gujarat Titans (GT), the only match he has played in IPL 2026. Cameron Green, who has aggregated 135 runs at a strike rate of 143.61 in six innings, scored 79 runs off 55 balls in that game.

“RR’s life is in their openers” – Aakash Chopra on potential change in KKR’s bowling attack for IPL 2026 clash vs RR

KKR have generally used Vaibhav Arora with the new ball in IPL 2026 (Image via iplt20.com)KKR have generally used Vaibhav Arora with the new ball in IPL 2026 (Image via iplt20.com)
KKR have generally used Vaibhav Arora with the new ball in IPL 2026 (Image via iplt20.com)

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that KKR could potentially include Umran Malik in their bowling attack, alongside Kartik Tyagi and Matheesha Pathirana, to rattle the RR top order with bounce and pace.

“In bowling, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, maybe Umran Malik, Kartik Tyagi, and Pathirana. RR’s life is in their openers, and Dhruv Jurel with them. If you can adopt the same template Hyderabad followed, try to dismiss them with bouncers and pace, there might be success somewhere,” he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Ajinkya Rahane and company need to win Sunday’s game to keep alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the IPL 2026 playoffs.

“If it doesn’t happen here, it will become almost impossible. What will be left for you in the tournament then? We are already moving fast towards mathematical calculations, but if you lose this as well, it will be done and dusted,” Chopra observed.

The Kolkata Knight Riders can reach at most 15 points if they lose to the Rajasthan Royals. Even if they win their remaining seven league games, it would leave them dependent on the other results.