"His batting doesn't have beauty but why do you need beauty" - Aakash Chopra picks Travis Head among SRH players in focus in IPL 2024 clash vs GT

Aakash Chopra has noted that SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) opener Travis Head is effective although he might not be graceful. SRH will face the Gujarat Titans (GT) in an IPL 2024 clash in Hyderabad on Thursday, May 16.

With 14 points from 12 games, SRH are fourth on the points table. A win against GT will guarantee them a playoff berth and improve their chances of finishing in the top two and making it to Qualifier 1.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma as the first two SunRisers Hyderabad players to watch out for in Thursday's game and pointed out that the former's batting is not very pleasing to the eye.

"It's very difficult to go beyond the two openers. One is Travis Head and alongside him is Abhishek Sharma. Both are incredible players and both hit a lot. They have slightly different playing styles," he said (2:25).

"Travis Head - who it seems like tries to hit the ball hard. He is slightly short-statured, opens his front leg, and plays a lot across the line. His batting doesn't have beauty but why do you need beauty? You need runs. It's not a picture that needs to be beautiful. His batting is effective. He scores a lot of runs," the former India opener added.

On the flip side, Chopra noted that Abhishek follows a more silken approach.

"If you see Abhishek Sharma, he plays with a high backlift, a style slightly similar to Yuvraj Singh, slightly traditional and orthodox where he looks like a player who uses the long levers. He too hits sixes and very far. So these are my two players," he observed.

Head and Abhishek are SRH's top two run-getters in IPL 2024. While the Australian southpaw has amassed 533 runs at a strike rate of 201.89 in 11 innings, the Indian youngster has smashed 401 runs at an even better strike rate of 205.64 in 12 hits.

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"I rate him very highly at this ground" - Aakash Chopra on SRH skipper Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins is SRH's second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra chose Pat Cummins as the SunRisers Hyderabad bowler to watch out for against the Gujarat Titans.

"The third player for this particular game, I am going with Pat Cummins. He captains well and in bowling as well, I rate him very highly at this ground. He runs his fingers over the ball, hits the middle of the pitch, the ball hits the bat's handle, and that is where he becomes very difficult to get away," he reasoned (3:10).

"He uses the side boundaries very well in his favor. Then he bowls those yorkers and the tough overs. So Pat Cummins will be my third player to watch out for. The rest of the team is good. There is no doubt about that," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

Cummins has picked up 14 wickets at an economy rate of 9.25 in 12 innings in IPL 2024. Only T Natarajan (15) has accounted for more dismissals for the Hyderabad-based franchise this season.