"The toss will be important once again but our brother doesn't win tosses" - Aakash Chopra picks Ruturaj Gaikwad among CSK players in focus vs GT

Aakash Chopra has noted that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad has a dismal toss record heading into his side's IPL 2024 clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 10. The 27-year-old, who took over the captaincy from MS Dhoni at the start of the season, has lost 10 of 11 tosses thus far.

With 12 points from 11 games, CSK are placed fourth on the points table. A win against the Titans will help them climb into third position and bolster their playoff qualification chances.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra chose Gaikwad as the first CSK player in focus in Friday's game, both as a captain - including at the toss - and as a batter.

"The toss will be important once again but our brother doesn't win tosses. Of course, his name is Ruturaj Gaikwad. He scores a lot of runs, plays very well, but his plan to win tosses is not working out. So I really hope. There will be a lot of focus on him as a batter because if you feel the opposing team is slightly 50-50 in bowling, you want to maximize," he reasoned (11:05).

"In this team, the way he is batting, he is the guy. He and Daryl Mitchell are two players whose wagons have gathered a little pace. So, in batting, I am looking at Ruturaj Gaikwad to begin with. He will be slightly hurt as well as to why he wasn't considered for the World Cup. Even I had not kept him in my team. However, he could have been in the traveling reserves," the former India opener added.

With 541 runs in 11 games, Gaikwad is the second-highest run-getter in IPL 2024. Only Virat Kohli (634) has aggregated more runs than him this season.

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"If he has gotten out early in two matches, it doesn't mean it will happen in the third too" - Aakash Chopra on CSK's Shivam Dube

Shivam Dube smashed a 23-ball 51 in CSK's home game against GT. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra picked Shivam Dube as the second Chennai Super Kings player to watch out for against the Gujarat Titans.

"The second player, I am going towards Shivam Dube this time as well because he is that game-changer. If he has gotten out early in two matches, it doesn't mean it will happen in the third too. So Noor Ahmed and Rashid Khan, and whatever fast bowling Gujarat bowl to him, I think he is a very important player," he said (12:00).

The renowned commentator chose Richard Gleeson as the CSK bowler in focus in Friday's game.

"I want to pick a bowler. Tushar Deshpande has some 'wow' days and some 'how' days. Simarjeet Singh bowled very well in the last match. Gleeson was expensive but I will go towards him this time. There will be some pace and bounce on this pitch, and the side boundaries are decently sized. So I am going with Richard Gleeson," Chopra explained.

Gleeson has picked up a solitary wicket at an economy rate of 9.06 in two games in IPL 2024. With Matheesha Pathirana and Mustafizur Rahman unavailable for the remaining games, the onus will be on the England pacer to raise his game and lead CSK's seam attack.