"An absolute left-field thought could be whether to consider Abhishek Sharma for the World Cup" - Aakash Chopra picks SRH players in focus vs RCB

Aakash Chopra has picked Abhishek Sharma among the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) players to watch out for in their IPL 2024 clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

The two sides will square off in Hyderabad on Thursday, April 25. With 10 points from seven games, SRH are placed third on the points table. A win against RCB will help them climb into second position and improve their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.

Previewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra chose Travis Head and Abhishek among the SRH players in focus in Thursday's game. He questioned whether the latter could be a surprise pick in India's 2024 T20 World Cup squad.

"The first ones are the two openers. You don't wish to go away from them - one is Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma comes along with him. Both are incredible. The truth is that Travis Head is hitting a lot, and hogging the limelight and the headlines but Abhishek Sharma is not behind," he said (3:00).

"His (Abhishek's) strike rate is even better than Travis Head's. The difference is that Head scored a century and an eighty, so he captures your imagination a little more, but Abhishek Sharma is playing very well. An absolute left-field thought could be whether to consider Abhishek Sharma for the World Cup," the former India opener added.

While acknowledging that Abhishek is unlikely to be picked in the Indian squad for the global event, Chopra suggested a few tactics RCB could employ against the SRH openers.

"His name might not come there, I will be very realistic, but what difference does it make? These two players - Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma - one plus one is not two but 11. What can be done to stop them? I would still say you can bowl bouncers to Head," he stated.

"You will have Lockie Ferguson, so you can try stopping him with bouncers. You can bring spin at the start. You can get Will Jacks to bowl. Those are things that you should try. Don't accept defeat. You can only stop them by getting them out," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

Head has smashed 324 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 216.00 in six innings in IPL 2024. Abhishek has amassed 257 runs in seven innings at a similar strike of 215.96.

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"Heinrich Klaasen is an obvious suspect" - Aakash Chopra on other SRH players to watch out for

Heinrich Klaasen has scored 268 runs at a strike rate of 198.51 in seven innings. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra named Heinrich Klaasen as the third SRH player to watch out for against RCB.

"Heinrich Klaasen is an obvious suspect. When he comes, he plays in such a way that he turns the match. He plays very few balls and even gets promoted in the batting order. He bats at a different level while batting first. So Heinrich Klaasen is the third guy," he reasoned (4:15).

Chopra noted that T Natarajan will also be in focus, pointing out that the SRH seamer has been brilliant with his yorkers and slower ones. He added that Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed and Abdul Samad too will attract attention, crediting the trio for the hosts' extended batting depth.