"A team that has Virat Kohli cannot be bad" - Aakash Chopra on RCB heading into IPL 2024 clash vs KKR

Aakash Chopra has noted that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are a good team but haven't delivered to their potential in IPL 2024.

RCB will face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the first game on Sunday, April 21. With two points from seven games, the visitors are placed last on the points table. They will need to beat Shreyas Iyer and company to keep alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the playoffs.

Previewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that RCB have formidable players like Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis but haven't lived up to expectations.

"Bangalore are a good team but they are not playing well. How are they good? It's because they have Virat Kohli in batting and a team that has Virat Kohli cannot be bad. Faf du Plessis is also not a bad player. He played well in the last match as well. Faf's season has been above expectations, considering the form he came with, but the team hasn't played well," he said (7:10).

The former India opener chose Kohli as the first RCB player to watch out for in Sunday's game.

"A broken record will start playing one more time. I am saying Virat Kohli once again because there is no player apart from Virat Kohli who is consistently scoring runs. So you will once again expect from Virat Kohli as it's slightly a grudge match and the Eden Gardens suits him. It's not enjoyable if an iconic player doesn't score runs at an iconic ground," Chopra reasoned (8:25).

Kohli has amassed 361 runs at an impressive strike rate of 147.34 in seven innings in IPL 2024. He scored an unbeaten 59-ball 83 in RCB's seven-wicket loss in the reverse fixture in Bengaluru on March 29.

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"I am hoping that he makes an impact" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's Will Jacks

Will Jacks has aggregated 15 runs in his two innings in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra named Will Jacks as the second Royal Challengers Bengaluru player in focus against the Kolkata Knight Riders.

"The second player I am thinking is Will Jacks, if he gets one more chance. He can pick up wickets with the ball, provided he is given a little more confidence. He also bats better, got run out at the non-striker's end last time, it was bad luck. It shouldn't happen like that. Will Jacks is a very good player. So I am hoping that he makes an impact," he explained (9:10).

The cricketer-turned-commentator noted that none of the RCB bowlers can be picked among the players to watch out for.

"I want to choose a bowler but how do I choose one among them? So let's choose Faf or Dinesh Karthik from down the order, or Mahipal Lomror. You can take whoever you want. Faf is consistent and DK is consistently hitting. Things get stuck between DK and VK (Virat Kohli) at times, but you can choose any of these players. You can choose all three as well," Chopra stated.

Dinesh Karthik has smoked 226 runs at an outstanding strike rate of 205.45 in six innings in IPL 2024. While Faf du Plessis (232 runs at a strike rate of 154.66 in seven innings) is the franchise's second-highest run-scorer, Mahipal Lomror has smashed 69 runs at a strike rate of 209.09 in four hits.