‘He has gone off the boil’ – Aakash Chopra criticises KL Rahul’s recent form slump

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has criticised KL Rahul and his team, Delhi Capitals (DC), after another poor performance with the bat, which has slimmed their playoff chances. DC’s rain-hit encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) may have earned them a point, but their underwhelming batting display has raised questions as they head into the business end of IPL 2025.

The Capitals have now lost three of their last five matches, and though they sit fifth on the points table with 13 points from 11 games, their issues with the bat have given them a serious threat to their top-four ambitions. In Tuesday’s encounter, DC were seen struggling at 29/5 before Tristan Stubbs and Ashutosh Sharma acted as crisis managers and helped them post 133/7 in a rain-affected match. 

Aakash pointed out DC’s misfiring batting order, naming Jake Fraser-McGurk, Karun Nair, Faf du Plessis, and Rahul for their performances. Chopra mentioned that DC’s top order has not just lacked stability, but it has also collapsed under pressure too often. 

“Your batting is not firing. You lost faith in Jake Fraser-McGurk. Faf du Plessis has hardly played one or two knocks. Karun Nair has played one knock. Abishek Porel has played two-and-a-half knocks. KL Rahul has played a few knocks. However, he has gone off the boil. After that, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Tristan Stubbs, and Axar Patel. You weren’t supposed to play a punt on them,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel. 

Also Read: IPL 2025: SRH eliminated as clash against DC gets washed out

Chopra also took a dig at DC’s management for not naming a replacement for Harry Brook, who withdrew before the tournament. 

“Where is your replacement for Brook? They haven’t taken one, and won’t get it as well if they don’t take it in the next two days. That story has ended for them,” he added.