"He will have pain in his heart" - Aakash Chopra picks Ruturaj Gaikwad among CSK players to watch out for in IPL 2024 clash vs PBKS

Aakash Chopra reckons Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad might be slightly pained heading into his side's IPL 2024 clash against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Chennai on Wednesday, May 1.

With 10 points from nine games, CSK are placed fourth on the points table. A win against PBKS will help them join two other teams on 12 points and improve their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra chose Gaikwad as the first CSK player to watch out for in Wednesday's game, considering that he was ignored for the Indian squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

"It's impossible to look beyond Ruturaj Gaikwad, considering the form he is in. He has almost hit back-to-back hundreds, couldn't score a hundred in the second game, but he is playing extremely well. He is batting like pure desi ghee. He drives the ball very well and I feel he will have pain in his heart, that he could have been taken for the World Cup," he said (6:35).

However, the cricketer-turned-commentator acknowledged that it would have been difficult to accommodate the CSK opener in the 15-member Indian squad.

"To be very honest, I had myself proposed his name but a place couldn't have been created. He might also know that. It definitely looks a little unfair but only three openers could have gone - Rohit (Sharma), (Virat) Kohli, and Yashasvi Jaiswal is the only left-hander," Chopra explained.

With 447 runs at an impressive strike rate of 149.49 in nine innings, Gaikwad is the second-highest run-getter in IPL 2024. Only Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli (500) has scored more runs than him this season.

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"The second one is already on the flight" - Aakash Chopra on CSK's Shivam Dube

Shivam Dube has smashed 350 runs at a strike rate of 172.41 in nine innings in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra picked Shivam Dube as the second CSK player in focus against PBKS. He noted that the big-hitting middle-order batter will want to stake a claim for a place in India's playing XI for the T20 World Cup.

"The second one is already on the flight. He has gone mentally. Shivam Dube has been selected. The big question for the Indian team will be whether they will be able to play him in the XI. It will be a travesty of justice if they are unable to do that," he stated (7:20).

"You want to play him but won't be able to because Hardik Pandya is the vice-captain. So he will play in the XI. It means Shivam Dube might not get a chance to play. So hit so much that, just like you have broken the door by hitting, you enter the XI as well," the former India opener added.

Chopra chose Ravindra Jadeja as the third CSK player to watch out for in Wednesday's game.

"I feel Chennai might play on a slightly slow pitch. So Ravindra Jadeja could be that guy. There is a question over him that he doesn't bat too aggressively in T20s and bowls well only when there is help from the pitch. So if they get to bowl first, he will be more than a handful," he reasoned.

Chopra noted that Jadeja tends to slow CSK down whenever he is promoted in the batting order. He added that the spin-bowling all-rounder will want to bat aggressively to silence his critics.