"Left-arm seamers are troubling him" - Aakash Chopra on Ruturaj Gaikwad heading into CSK's IPL 2024 clash vs SRH

Aakash Chopra has noted that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has been troubled by left-arm seamers ahead of the team's IPL 2024 clash against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad on Friday, April 5.

Left-arm pacers have dismissed Gaikwad in all three of his innings in the ongoing edition of the prestigious league. Yash Dayal, Spencer Johnson, and Khaleel Ahmed have got him to nick the ball to either the wicketkeeper or the first slip.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Gaikwad as one of the Chennai Super Kings players in focus for Friday's game.

"I am focusing a lot on the captain because Ruturaj has top-class numbers against this team. He has won Player of the Match awards and scored runs, 50 and more. So why not Ruturaj Gaikwad? What has happened thus far - left-arm seamers are troubling him," he reasoned (2:20).

The former India batter noted that the CSK opener might not be confronted with T Natarajan and Marco Jansen.

"However, we don't know whether T Natarajan is available and I don't see Marco Jansen playing. When the pitch is so flat, I am expecting a lot that he will score runs. He has looked in good form but the lack of runs is evident," Chopra observed.

Chopra acknowledged that SRH's bowling attack might have Jaydev Unadkat as a left-arm seamer. However, he opined that the Saurashtra bowler has fewer chances of dismissing the CSK batter and is unlikely to get rid of him cheaply even if he does so.

---

"He is absolutely gold dust" - Aakash Chopra on CSK seamer Matheesha Pathirana

Matheesha Pathirana bowled two sensational yorkers in CSK's last game against DC. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra chose Matheesha Pathirana as the second Chennai Super Kings player to watch out for.

"The second player I am thinking about is Matheesha Pathirana. He is absolutely gold dust. Mustafizur Rahman might not be there in this match. You might see Maheesh Theekshana playing if that's the case. So there will be more focus on Pathirana if Mustafizur isn't there," he said (3:25).

The cricketer-turned-commentator named Ravindra Jadeja as the third CSK player in focus in Friday's game.

The third player, I am thinking why not Ravindra Jadeja? He hasn't done well so far. It has been a very ordinary IPL for him. However, the opposing team has Travis Head, who interestingly does not have good numbers against left-arm spin, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen, both of whom can be trapped against left-arm spin," Chopra explained.

Jadeja picked up a solitary wicket in 10 overs in the defending champions' first three games. He hasn't got much to do with the bat either, aggregating 53 runs at a strike rate of 143.24 in three innings.