"Suryakumar Yadav's form has gone south" - Aakash Chopra on Mumbai Indians' batting issues heading into IPL 2024 clash vs KKR

Aakash Chopra has pointed out the Mumbai Indians' (MI) batting issues, including the recent lean run of Suryakumar Yadav, heading into their IPL 2024 clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Mumbai on Friday, May 3.

With six points from 10 games, the Mumbai Indians are placed ninth on the points table. They need to win all their remaining four league games to keep their slim chances of qualifying for the playoffs alive.

Previewing the MI-KKR clash in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that the Mumbai Indians' batting, especially their top three, has let them down in their last three away games.

"When they were on the road - Rajasthan, Delhi and Lucknow, they lost in all three places, and the thing that used to be their strength disappointed them in all three places. I am not talking about bowling at all. If your batting is not scoring runs, how can it be your strength?" he said (7:30)

"The batting had a lot of might but that hasn't been seen. Suryakumar Yadav's form has gone south. He was dismissed early in all three games - Rajasthan, Delhi and Lucknow. It was the same story for Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan as well," the former India opener added.

Suryakumar has aggregated 46 runs in his last three innings. While Ishan Kishan has totaled 52 runs in his last three hits, Rohit Sharma hasn't reached double figures in any of his last three knocks.

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"I am going with Rohit Sharma one more time" - Aakash Chopra on the Mumbai Indians players in focus vs KKR

Rohit Sharma has amassed 315 runs at a strike rate of 158.29 in 10 innings in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra chose Rohit Sharma as the first Mumbai Indians player in focus in Friday's game.

"If your top three don't play well, you cannot play well. So I am going with Rohit Sharma one more time. Score runs although there will be a left-arm pacer in front of you, if he is there, because Mitchell Starc is also so expensive. I am hoping Rohit Sharma does well for his, the team, and the Indian fans' sake," he reasoned (8:05).

The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that Hardik Pandya needs to fire with both ball and bat.

"The second player I am thinking is Hardik Pandya. If I see from India's perspective, if you have appointed him the vice-captain, the vice-captain 100% plays in the XI, so he has to pick up wickets and bowl well. He has started bowling three to four overs, so I am hoping that he picks up wickets, and also scores some runs," Chopra explained.

Chopra pointed out that both India and the Mumbai Indians need Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah to be back to their best.

"The third player - I am split. I am thinking about Suryakumar Yadav and then I will go towards Jasprit Bumrah. You can choose anyone you want. It's better if runs come from Surya's bat because if I see the Indian team, only a few players can play a different brand of cricket, and Surya is a very important key member in that," he said.

"To be fair, Jasprit Bumrah also lost his form in Jaipur, Delhi and Lucknow. Jasprit Bumrah will be important, or else who will stop Sunil Narine? Everyone has made plans to dismiss Sunil Narine with full balls and Bumrah can execute that best," the former KKR player added.

Suryakumar has aggregated 176 runs at a below-par average of 25.14 in seven innings in IPL 2024. With 14 wickets in 10 games, Bumrah is the Mumbai Indians' highest wicket-taker this season. However, the right-arm seamer has picked up only one wicket in the last three games and will want to be more penetrative against KKR.