"He looked slightly pale in the last match" - Aakash Chopra picks Deepak Chahar among 3 CSK players to watch out for in IPL 2024 clash vs GT

Aakash Chopra has picked Deepak Chahar among the three Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players he will keenly follow in their IPL 2024 clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT).

The two sides will square off at Chepauk in Chennai on Tuesday, March 26. Both teams head into the clash with home wins in their respective previous games and will want to climb atop the points table with another positive result.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra chose Chahar as one of the three CSK players to watch out for in Tuesday's fixture.

"Deepak Chahar, because he is a wicket-taker with the new ball. He looked slightly pale in the last match. He was releasing the ball well but it was landing slightly short. Pitching the ball up and getting it to swing is his ability and strength. Getting one or two batters out in the powerplay makes him Deepak Chahar," he reasoned (3:30).

"He is coming back after a very long injury layoff. Here Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha will be in front of him and you want to bring Sai Sudharsan to the ground quickly. So I am looking forward to seeing how Deepak Chahar bowls because in a long season, Chennai will only do when Deepak Chahar picks up wickets," the former India opener added.

Chahar registered figures of 1/37 in four overs in CSK's six-wicket win against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He conceded 24 runs in his first two overs but bounced back to dismiss Glenn Maxwell for a golden duck in the final over of the powerplay.

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"Now that you are the captain, there is excess focus on you" - Aakash Chopra on CSK's Ruturaj Gaikwad

Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a run-a-ball 15 against RCB. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra reckons Ruturaj Gaikwad's batting and captaincy will be in focus.

"I will go with the captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. He was batting well in the last match and then he got dismissed. Now that you are the captain, there is excess focus on you, whether Dhoni or Rutu is setting the field. I think Rutu captained well in the last match," he elaborated (1:20).

"However, how many runs will he score? In the opposing team, you see Umesh Yadav with the new ball. They didn't get Spencer Johnson to bowl with the new ball. Azmatullah Omarzai will bowl. This pitch will be good for batting and because (Mohammed) Shami isn't there with the new ball, you will get a little breathing space," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

Chopra named Rachin Ravindra as another CSK player he will keenly follow.

"I have kept his partner Rachin Ravindra. If you see the 16 champions thus far, the openers rarely played less than an average of 40 balls. Devon Conway and Ruturaj's partnership was very good and Rachin Ravindra was batting well in the last match. However, he lost his wicket after getting a start. Now the question is whether he can play a long knock here," he stated.

Ravindra smashed 37 runs off 15 deliveries in CSK's IPL 2024 opener against RCB. While the southpaw's blazing knock gave the required momentum to the defending champions' run chase, he will want to make a more substantial contribution against the Titans.