Former India player Aakash Chopra has chosen three players each from the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Gujarat Titans (GT) who will be in focus in their much-awaited clash. The two teams will lock horns at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in the second game on Sunday, March 24 as well. Both teams reached the playoffs last year, with the Titans knocking MI out in Qualifier 2 before losing to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the final as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said, “Let me start with Rohit Sharma. He had one good season, which I think was 2013, but he hasn’t had a 500-plus season after that. He has been a very successful captain. The way he has been batting for India for the last one to one-and-a-half years, this could be his season. I feel the eyes will be on Rohit Sharma.”
“After that, I am thinking Ishan Kishan. There is a lot of pressure on him. He took a break due to mental fatigue. He was practicing with Hardik Pandya but wasn’t available for India. Then he lost his central contract. A player who was a very integral part of Indian cricket suddenly got removed,” the former India opener again added.
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Aakash Chopra also named Hardik Pandya as the third MI player he will focus. However, he also noted that although MI are a well-oiled unit, they will try something different as Suryakumar Yadav isn’t available for Sunday’s game as well.
“The third player is, of course, Hardik Pandya. Suryakumar Yadav is not available for this match, but Hardik Pandya the captain, batter and bowler. He is going to his old franchise’s ground. There is so much to look forward to, that how will Hardik captain,” he said.
Meanwhile, he also chose Shubman Gill as one of the Gujarat Titans he will focus on. The veteran commentator named Rashid Khan and Umesh Yadav as the other two GT players to watch out for as well.
“One is Shubman Gill, again as a batter and a captain. The focus will be on how he captains. He is very young but extremely talented. The expectation will be that he will take captaincy like fish to water. Shubman Gill needs to score runs as well because you want to earn respect as a leader,” he added.
“The second player I am seeing is Rashid Khan because he is coming back from injury. Since Mohammed Shami isn’t there, they might play either Spencer Johnson or Joshua Little. So if Noor Ahmad and Rashid don’t play together, will there be more pressure on Rashid? I am very intrigued about how he bowls and how many wickets he picks. The third player is Umesh Yadav. His ball swings and swing will come in handy for him if they bowl second because under lights there is something about that Gujarat pitch. The ball moves a lot and you get chances to pick up wickets,” he concluded.
