"When RCB's bowling will be in front of him, Andre Russell's mighty form might be seen" - Aakash Chopra on KKR players in focus in IPL 2024 clash

Aakash Chopra reckons Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Andre Russell might demolish the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bowling attack in their IPL 2024 clash.

The two sides will square off at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the first game on Sunday, April 21. Russell, who has smashed 128 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 200.00 in four innings in the ongoing edition of the IPL, will want to demonstrate his big-hitting abilities.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra chose Russell as one of the KKR players to watch out for in Sunday's game.

"Once more Andre Russell. It's become a broken record. Andre Russell has very good numbers against this team. He bats incredibly well, hits massive sixes, and his bat has been silent for the last one or two matches. I am thinking that when RCB's bowling will be in front of him, Andre Russell's mighty form might be seen," he reasoned (4:35).

The former India opener picked Sunil Narine as another KKR player in focus against RCB.

"I am thinking Sunil Narine once again because last time he scored a century at this ground. That's point one. Secondly, Sunil Narine scored runs when they played in Bengaluru," Chopra said (3:55).

"Thirdly, when Faf (du Plessis), (Virat) Kohli and Will Jacks are there in the opposition, and Cameron Green might play, you will look towards him. They dropped Cameron Green in the last match and played two (overseas) fast bowlers. They might not need to play two fast bowlers here because it didn't make a difference even when they played them - 287 were scored," the former KKR player added.

Narine has smashed 276 runs at a strike rate of 187.75 in six innings this season. He has also picked up seven wickets at an excellent economy rate of 6.87.

---

"He could be your differential kind of player who can change the game" - Aakash Chopra on KKR's Harshit Rana

Harshit Rana has picked up seven wickets at an economy rate of 9.50 in four innings in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra named Harshit Rana as the third Kolkata Knight Riders player he is eager to watch.

"The third player - I am thinking either Harshit Rana or Varun Chakaravarthy, but I will go towards Harshit because he is bowling well. He is also bowling the tough overs - one or two overs in the powerplay but definitely two overs at the death. He has a good slower one and if they bowl first, he could be your differential kind of player who can change the game," he elaborated (5:00).

Chopra reckons KKR might include Nitish Rana, if he is fit and available, in their playing XI even though Angkrish Raghuvanshi has played a few blazing knocks.

The reputed commentator also urged Shreyas Iyer and company to consider playing Suyash Sharma at Vaibhav Arora's expense.