"Chennai don't bowl spin at all" - Aakash Chopra on SRH's issues against spin heading into IPL 2024 clash vs CSK

Aakash Chopra is unsure whether the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be able to take advantage of the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) batters' issues against spin in their IPL 2024 clash in Hyderabad on Friday, April 5.

SRH suffered a seven-wicket defeat in their previous game against the Gujarat Titans (GT). The SunRisers were found slightly wanting against Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad and posted a below-par total.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that the SunRisers Hyderabad batters can be troubled by spin. However, he isn't convinced whether the Chennai Super Kings will test them enough with their spinners.

"There is no doubt that Hyderabad are a powerhouse team. They hit a lot of sixes, there is no doubt about that as well. However, when they went to Gujarat, they were stopped in their tracks, because they have slight difficulties against spin," he said (1:40).

"However, Chennai don't bowl spin at all. You know that they don't use spinners at all. In the last match, they used only one, that was Ravindra Jadeja, and I think he also bowled only two overs. They are not bowling spin and are only going with fast bowling," the former India opener added.

Ravindra Jadeja was the only spinner used by CSK in their last two games, bowling two overs against GT and his full quota against the Delhi Capitals (DC).

However, the defending champions might include Maheesh Theekshana in their playing XI against SRH, considering that Mustafizur Rahman is potentially unavailable.

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"Travis Head will be in focus once again" - Aakash Chopra on SRH players to watch out for

Travis Head smashed a 24-ball 62 against the Mumbai Indians. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra picked Travis Head as the first Sunrisers Hyderabad player he is eager to watch in Friday's game.

"Travis Head will be in focus once again and he will be my first player to watch out for because he is that kind of a player. When he played here last time, he smashed Mumbai. He was hitting sixes one after the other," he reasoned (6:45).

The renowned commentator chose Pat Cummins as the second SRH player in focus.

"The second player I am thinking about is Pat Cummins because I feel he is a very important player on this pitch. He is tall, rolls his fingers over the ball, the side boundaries are decent-sized, and the bounce this pitch has forces you to hit sixes towards midwicket off his bowling, and they are not hit that easily. He has also now started bowling the difficult overs," Chopra elaborated.

Chopra named Shahbaz Ahmed as the third home team player to watch out for.

"Let's talk about Shahbaz Ahmed. This could be a very important match for Shahbaz Ahmed because of the number at which he is batting. They are still expecting him to play the finishing role if Heinrich Klaasen's bat doesn't fire every time, and that's a tough one. However, he played well against Gujarat," he explained.

Chopra noted that Shahbaz will also be asked to bowl important overs for SRH. He added that it will be interesting to see how the left-arm spinner is used, considering that CSK have a few southpaws, namely Rachin Ravindra, Shivam Dube, and Ravindra Jadeja, in their batting lineup.