"It's been a long time since he has hit" - Aakash Chopra picks Heinrich Klaasen among SRH players in focus in IPL 2024 clash vs RR

Ahead of the SunRisers Hyderabad's (SRH) IPL 2024 clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Hyderabad on Thursday (May 2), Aakash Chopra has noted that Heinrich Klaasen is due for runs.

With 10 points in nine games, SRH are placed fifth on the points table. A win against table-toppers RR 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 Klaasen as one of the SunRisers Hyderabad players to watch out for in Thursday's game.

"Let's go towards Heinrich Klaasen. It's been a long time since he has hit. Travis Head is there at the start. He also does well generally but Heinrich Klaasen is that game-changer. Why am I saying that? (Ravichandran) Ashwin and Yuzi (Yuzvendra) Chahal will definitely come in front of them," he reasoned (9:15).

"When the two spinners will come, who can hit them? I feel the game will probably be decided in the middle overs. This is not a game that will be decided in the first six overs. Heinrich Klaasen's contest against the two spinners is something you want to watch closely," the former India opener added.

Klaasen has smashed 295 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 185.53 in nine innings in IPL 2024. However, the SRH wicketkeeper-batter has aggregated only 42 runs in his last three innings and will want to contribute more against RR.

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"He is not going for the World Cup, so he might be slightly hurt" - Aakash Chopra on SRH's Abhishek Sharma

Abhishek Sharma has smoked 303 runs at a strike rate of 214.89 in nine innings in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra picked Abhishek Sharma as another SRH player in focus against the Royals.

"If Pat Cummins wins the toss, I feel he should also bat first. Let others chase, you bat and get Abhishek Sharma to play. He plays incredibly well. He is not going for the World Cup, so he might be slightly hurt," he said (6:15).

"How well he is batting. If he keeps batting like this, he might play for India soon. You never know. Times are changing. The Indian selectors have already started focusing on the next generation," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

Chopra chose T Natarajan as the crucial bowler for the hosts.

"The third, I am thinking let's go towards T Natarajan. The opposing team has Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Sanju Samson - who will stop them? You need T Natarajan to stop them. He is bowling well even with the new ball nowadays and bowls excellent yorkers in the death overs," he explained (9:55).

Chopra urged SRH to include Mayank Markande in their playing XI. He added that the IPL 2016 champions will also need Aiden Markram, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed to contribute more with the bat.