"It just cramps him a little" - Aakash Chopra on KL Rahul's mindset heading into Lucknow Super Giants' IPL 2024 clash vs CSK

Aakash Chopra has picked Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper KL Rahul as one of their players he is eager to watch in their IPL 2024 clash against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

The two sides will square off at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Friday, April 19. With six points from as many games, LSG are placed fifth on the points table, and a win against CSK will help them join three other teams, including their opponents, on eight points.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra chose Quinton de Kock and Rahul as the first two Lucknow Super Giants players in focus in Friday's game. He noted that the latter's mindset makes him adopt a slightly conservative approach at times.

"You will have to score 190 and not 160. So who all will have a role to reach there? I am picking both openers. Both of them need to do well. KL Rahul is looking alright because he is in form. In fact, he keeps playing in a permanent fashion," he said (4:15).

"Playing fast and taking till the end, he gets caught in the balancing act at times, that whether he needs to play fast or cautiously, and for how long he needs to play when the wickets are falling from the other end. So it just cramps him a little. So it will be worth seeing how KL Rahul plays and how many runs he scores," the former India opener added.

Chopra pointed out De Kock's importance for the Lucknow Super Giants.

"Quinton de Kock needs to score runs because runs haven't been scored in the last two innings. He was actually batting well in the last match against Kolkata but he got out off Vaibhav Arora's bowling. You will expect him to score runs here because if he scores runs, 180-190 remains absolutely in your control. If both of them fire, forget 190, even 200 is possible," he explained.

Rahul has amassed 204 runs at a strike rate of 138.77 in six innings in IPL 2024. De Kock has aggregated 174 runs in his six hits at a slightly better strike rate of 140.32.

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"The day he gets out, you get stuck in any case" - Aakash Chopra on Lucknow Super Giants' Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran is LSG's highest run-scorer in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra named Nicholas Pooran as the third Lucknow Super Giants player to watch out for against the Chennai Super Kings.

"I am once again not picking a bowler as my third player. I am going with Nicholas Pooran. I feel the focus will once again be on Nicholas Pooran a little, that he should come and hit because the day he hits, only he hits, and that is why you reach wherever you reach. The day he gets out, you get stuck in any case," he reasoned (5:35).

Pooran has smashed 223 runs at an excellent strike rate of 161.59 in six innings in IPL 2024. He has clubbed 19 sixes and is behind only Heinrich Klaasen (24), Sunil Narine (20) and Riyan Parag (20) on that count.