Aakash Chopra, a former player for India, has called attention to the Delhi Capitals’ (DC) batting problems following their IPL 2025 matchup with the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). He pointed out that KL Rahul, who was the team’s most reliable batsman in their opening few games, has also been missing from the runs recently.
KL Rahul scored 10 runs off of 14 deliveries as DC defeated SRH by 133/7 on Monday, May 5 in Match 55 of the 2025 Indian Premier League at Hyderabad. The hosts were unable to begin their chase, though, due to rain and a wet outfield, and as a result, each team received one point.
The former India opener noted in a video posted to his YouTube account, “Aakash Chopra,” that Rahul has been playing poorly lately and that DC’s batting is failing them.
“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.”
Aakash Chopra
Chopra questioned why, in spite of their batting difficulties, the visitors hadn’t replaced Harry Brook.
“After that, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Tristan Stubbs and Axar Patel. You weren’t supposed to play a punt on them. 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.”
Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra believes the Delhi Capitals would struggle to score more than 13 points, citing their last three league games against the Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans, and Mumbai Indians. Axar Patel and colleagues have completely lost their momentum, he continued, and it is improbable that they will make it to the IPL 2025 playoffs.
Aakash Chopra on SRH’s exit says performance matters more than team strength
Aakash Chopra expressed his opinion that the runners-up from the previous season did not play well this year, which led to the SRH’s elimination from the 2025 Inter League.
“Hyderabad’s story is also over. Not only the match but their hopes were also rained off. Hyderabad won’t make too many changes in the future. The team was good. However, no matter how good the team is, if you don’t play well, you have a problem.”
Aakash Chopra
The cricket player-turned-commentator thought that rain might have prevented Pat Cummins and colleagues from winning easily in Monday’s match.
“Pat Cummins bowled extremely well here. In fact, it wasn’t only Pat Cummins, as everyone bowled well. Ashutosh Sharma and Tristan Stubbs took the team to a fighting total, but that was about it. Hyderabad might have won this match easily had they got to bat.”
Aakash Chopra
The most effective bowler for SRH vs DC in their IPL 2025 match was Pat Cummins (3/19). The only DC batsmen to score more than 20 runs were Tristan Stubbs (41* off 36) and Ashutosh Sharma (41 off 26), while Jaydev Unadkat (1/13), Harshal Patel (1/36) and Eshan Malinga (1/28) each claimed a wicket.
