"I will request Rishabh with folded hands that he should come to bat up the order" - Aakash Chopra on Delhi Capitals players in focus vs MI

Aakash Chopra has urged Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant to bat slightly up the order in their IPL 2024 clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI).

The two teams will square off in Delhi in the first game on Saturday, April 27. With eight points from nine games, the Capitals are placed sixth on the points table. A win against MI will help them join three other teams on 10 points.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra chose Pant as the first Delhi Capitals player to watch out for in Saturday's afternoon game.

"My first player is Rishabh Pant. My heart cried when Rishabh Pant came to bat very low against this team last time. I said he should have batted as he only could have won the game. They lost by a very small margin to Mumbai," he said (2:50).

"So I will request Rishabh with folded hands that he should come to bat up the order. You scored 88 in the last match and if the conditions are even slightly slower, no one will be able to play better than you. So please come up the batting order," the former India opener added.

Pant is the Delhi Capitals' highest run-scorer in IPL 2024. The wicketkeeper-batter has amassed 342 runs at an excellent strike rate of 161.32 in nine innings.

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"The second player who comes to my mind is Axar Patel" - Aakash Chopra on the other Delhi Capitals players to watch out for

Axar Patel scored a 43-ball 66 at No. 3 in the Delhi Capitals' previous game against the Gujarat Titans. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra named Axar Patel as the second Delhi Capitals player in focus against the Mumbai Indians.

"The second player who comes to my mind is Axar Patel, who was sent up the order and he batted well too. I expect him to also bowl well in this match. He might not get to bat so high again. It doesn't matter even if he gets to do that. He played Rashid (Khan) and Noor (Ahmed) very well and the opposing team does not have very good spinners," he reasoned (3:20).

The cricketer-turned-commentator expects Kuldeep Yadav to be among the wickets against Hardik Pandya and company.

"The third player I am thinking about is Kuldeep Yadav because he is consistently picking up wickets. He picked up two wickets in the last match and four in the game before that. I believe he will take wickets against Mumbai as well. He couldn't play the last match against them but he is available now and playing," Chopra observed.

Kuldeep is the Capitals' top wicket-taker in IPL 2024. The left-arm wrist-spinner has picked up 12 wickets in just six games at an acceptable economy rate of 7.62.