No Andre Russell and Sunil Narine as Aakash Chopra picks 3 KKR players to watch out for vs SRH

Former India batsman Aakash Chopra, who is on commentary duty in the IPL 2024 edition which kicked off yesterday, picked the Top 3 players to watch out for from today’s clash between KKR and SRH. The two teams will lock horns against each other in the second match of the weekend’s double header in the evening, here at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium. Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings will face off in the first fixture of matchday 2.

The new subject of Aakash Chopra’s video was the top 3 players from Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad to watch out for in match number 3 of IPL 2024. Before getting into his picks, we must know that it will be a match between two teams who splashed over 20 crores to buy Australian World Cup winners. That makes this match even more exciting and one to keep an eye on.

Aakash Chopra picks Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Mitchell Starc from KKR

Aakash Chopra started by picking the top 3 players from his former and only IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. His choice from KKR were pretty obvious – skipper Shreyas Iyer, middle-order batsman Rinku Singh, and the most expensive IPL player ever, left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc.

Chopra chose Iyer because he will have a point to prove after watching his career turn upside down in the recent past. The former opening batsman highlighted Iyer’s central contract snub from BCCI, his issues with recurring back injury, and his struggle against bouncers. Chopra feels that Iyer will be eager to prove his doubters wrong and hope to get some runs under his belt.

“One is Shreyas Iyer. The way things have happened in his life for the last little while, you start feeling for him. There were some back issues, the central contract issue, and slight issues against the bouncer. When you have so many issues, you say let’s hit the ground running. Make your bat do the talking.” – Aakash Chopra said in his latest YouTube video. 

Up next was Rinku Singh for his power-hitting prowess from the middle-order position. Chopra explained that Rinku is in excellent form at the moment. He will be the one to watch out for because his performance will directly contribute to his chances of making it to the Indian team’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024 squad.

“The second player on my radar is Rinku Singh because he is in excellent form. Since the T20 World Cup is about to come, you want to see how he plays. So that will be a good contest.” – Chopra added. 

Lastly, Mitchell Starc for obvious reasons justifies the 24.75 Crore price tag. Aakash Chopra took a cryptic dig towards the Australian by claiming that he should be claiming hat-trick in his very first over and if not, then a wicket off the first ball at least.

“The third player in focus is this tournament’s most expensive player – Mitchell Starc. When you have bought for him for so much money, you will expect him to hit his first ball on the stumps. The expectation is a hat-trick in the first over.” – Chopra said about Starc. 

Aakash Chopra picks Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen and Pat Cummins from SRH

From the perspective of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Aakash Chopra first picked ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 final’s man of the match Travis Head. He was the second Aussie international who was bought in the auction and Chopra asked him to get going in the tournament since he scored a lot of runs in the final against India.

“Travis Head, because the Hyderabad team has gone in the Australian direction. You scored runs against India, now score runs in the tournament happening in India.” – Chopra said about Travis Head. 

Then SRH’s most in-form batter from South Africa, Heinrich Klaasen had finished the 2nd edition of the SA20 league as the second-highest run-scorer with 447 runs. Aakash Chopra backed Klaasen to keep the stumps as well and also highlighted his proficiency against spin bowlers as one of his key strengths.

“Heinrich Klaasen is at No. 2. He is a very good player. You might see him keeping as well. He bats amazingly well and will do so in this tournament as well. The opposing team will have spinners.” – Chopra further added. 

And lastly, from SRH’s perspective, Chopra backed skipper Pat Cummins as the one to watch out for in the match later today. The former India and KKR batsman highlighted his price tag and said that it remains to be seen when he comes out to bowl.

Aakash Chopra also took a cryptic dig towards PSL by saying that Cummins and Starc’s combined cost will facilitate an entire season of Pakistan’s premier franchise T20 league.

“Last but not least, Pat Cummins, because we are talking about 45 crores between Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Some leagues have that much as their total budget. So how and where he will bowl, how many wickets he will take, and how he captains.” – Chopra concluded.