"The scales are still tilted a little towards Hyderabad" - Aakash Chopra on SRH's IPL 2025 clash vs CSK

Former India player Aakash Chopra has picked the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) as the slight favorites heading into their IPL 2025 clash against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, he acknowledged that it's difficult to pick a winner as both teams have dished out 'ordinary' performances this season.

SRH will lock horns with CSK in Match 43 of IPL 2025 in Chennai on Friday, April 25. Both sides have garnered four points from their respective eight outings, and a defeat for either team in Friday's game could virtually knock them out of playoff contention.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener opined that the SunRisers Hyderabad have a slight edge in the battle between the two underperforming sides.

"Hyderabad are aboard the same boat as Chennai. If we do man-to-man marking, I would say the scales are still tilted a little towards Hyderabad. However, very little to choose between the two. Both are playing an ordinary brand of cricket," he said.

Chopra noted that SRH chose Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari and Harshal Patel ahead of Mohammad Shami in their starting lineup in their previous game against the Mumbai Indians (MI).

"They (SRH) said last time that Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari and Harshal Patel are more valuable to them than Shami in bowling because they didn't keep Shami in the XI. They kept him in the substitutes, and when there was a collapse in batting, Abhinav Manohar came in, and Shami was out," he observed.

While highlighting that the move shows how underwhelming Shami's performances have been this season, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that last season's runners-up's attempt to bolster their bowling attack hasn't yielded the desired results.

"It is also a reflection on how Shami's season has been. It has been absolutely cold. They had thought about upgrading their bowling. They let Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) go as his last year wasn't good. So they brought in Harshal Patel and Mohammad Shami. They actually were thinking in the right direction, but it's not turned out to be that way," Chopra elaborated.

Mohammad Shami has picked up only five wickets in seven innings in IPL 2025. He has also been quite expensive, conceding an average of 10.87 runs per over.

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"Batting is the problem" - Aakash Chopra on SRH's bigger issue ahead of IPL 2025 clash vs CSK

Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head have rarely stitched together a substantial partnership in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that batting has been the bigger concern for the SunRisers Hyderabad in IPL 2025, highlighting that none of their batters have been consistent.

"Bowling is not the problem. Batting is the problem. In batting, whoever's name you take, you feel he hasn't done well. (Heinrich) Klaasen played well in the last match. Abhishek Sharma played well one day. Aniket Verma played well in one match. Ishan Kishan played well in one match. Travis Head has played well in two or two-and-a-half matches, but that's about it," he said (9:30).

The analyst added that SRH's massive investments in the batting department haven't yielded them the desired dividends.

"They have played well together in just two matches, one was the first match against the Rajasthan Royals, and the other was the run chase they did against the Punjab Kings. Nitish Kumar Reddy hasn't played well in any match. The huge investments have failed to deliver, and that has been their problem," Chopra observed.

Heinrich Klaasen (281) is the only SRH batter to aggregate more than 250 runs in IPL 2025. Nitish Kumar Reddy has managed 133 runs, with a top score of 32, at a paltry average of 19.00 in seven innings this season.