Former India opening batter Aakash Chopra was sharply critical of Lucknow Super Giants\u2019 Arshin Kulkarni after the youngster\u2019s slow return against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2026 on Thursday. Kulkarni managed 17 runs from 24 balls, and despite Mitchell Marsh\u2019s blistering form at the other end\u2014where he went on to smash a match-winning century\u2014Chopra felt the innings offered little value for the side. He argued that Kulkarni effectively batted like a four-over spell but produced only 17 runs, which is far from enough in a T20 chase-or-sets setting.<\/p>\n
Chopra made the case that teams should not treat \u201cretiring\u201d a batter as a taboo move when they are failing to get going, especially if the batter has genuinely tried to score. In his view, the same logic used to remove a bowler from the attack after a poor spell should also apply to a batter who cannot find momentum. Chopra stressed that with overs being limited, franchises must squeeze maximum productivity out of the time they have.<\/p>\n
\u201cArshin Kulkarni made 17 runs in 24 balls, which is basically four overs,\u201d Chopra said on YouTube. \u201cRetiring a batter out shouldn\u2019t be taboo anymore. Just as when a bowler is removed from the rotation during a bad spell, the same should be extended to a batter who isn\u2019t able to connect despite genuine attempts. The overs are limited and the sides need to make the most of them, and I think LSG missed a trick there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Chopra, however, saved his biggest praise for Mitchell Marsh after the Australian\u2019s century, which ultimately helped Lucknow Super Giants beat defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru by nine runs in a high-scoring contest. Marsh delivered a dominant top-order display, striking 111 off 56 balls to take LSG to 209\/3 in the rain-affected match, setting up a total that proved just out of reach for RCB.<\/p>\n
Marsh was named Player of the Match for his commanding innings, and Chopra highlighted the batter\u2019s tournament consistency and his ability to take control of pace bowling. Speaking on JioHotstar, the former opener pointed out Marsh\u2019s stable role in the batting order across the campaign, contrasting that with the changes seen around him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarsh is the only batter in this entire LSG setup who has batted at the same position throughout the tournament. Everybody else has been moved around,\u201d Chopra said on the show. He also lauded Marsh\u2019s power-hitting, emphasizing that the opener can attack fast bowlers decisively while remaining effective on both sides of the wicket.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s got the strength. He\u2019s a very different kind of opener. He\u2019s tall and has long levers and, therefore, goes downtown. The moment you start hitting fast bowlers over their heads and into the stands, where do you actually bowl to him?\u201d Chopra added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former India opening batter Aakash Chopra was sharply critical of Lucknow Super Giants\u2019 Arshin Kulkarni after the youngster\u2019s slow return against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Aakash Chopra Criticises Arshin Kulkarni vs RCB IPL 2026","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Aakash Chopra questions Arshin Kulkarni\u2019s slow return vs RCB in IPL 2026, after a 17-ball 17 that failed to add value despite Marsh\u2019s century.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n