The defending champions Gujarat Titans will face Chennai Super Kings in the opening encounter of IPL 2023. The IPL has finally arrived in home and away format which was interrupted for three years due to Covid -19.
Meanwhile, former Indian opener Aakash Chopra and now a celebrated commentator have predicted two names who could be the orange cap winner for the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League.
The former Indian cricketer praised the opening duo of Lucknow Super Giants stating that KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock have the potential to win the Orange Cap. He also mentioned that LSG who were knocked out in the Eliminator round last year by the Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to win the title this year.
Chopra discussed on his Youtube channel that Lucknow Super Giants have a strong top-order batting line-up and he believes that both KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock can win the Orange Cap award. In the previous season, Rahul secured the second spot in the Orange Cap list scoring 616 runs and finishing behind Jos Buttler who plays for Rajasthan Royals.
“This team’s runaway strength is their top order because both are Orange Cap contenders, whether it is KL Rahul or Quinton de Kock. The form Quinton de Kock is in, he scores his century in 10 to 12 overs,” said Chopra.
Aakash Chopra further commented that KL Rahul doesn’t need to prove himself as he is the top contender for the Orange Cap every season. However, he pointed out that Rahul has been going through a rough patch as he has only managed to score 187 runs in his last five one-day international matches for India and 95 runs in his last four Test matches.
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“KL Rahul has a point to prove. In a way, he does not have a point to prove because he remains close to the Orange Cap every year. If scoring 600 runs was that easy, anyone would do it but he does that. But there are many naysayers, so the critics become slightly silent if he has a good season,” Chopra added.
