"Will he again take the new ball in his hand?" - Aakash Chopra on questions over Hardik Pandya's captaincy heading into MI-SRH IPL 2024 clash

Aakash Chopra has picked Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Hardik Pandya as one of the players to watch out for in their IPL 2024 clash against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).

The two sides will face off in Hyderabad on Wednesday, March 27. Both teams head into the game after narrow defeats in their respective tournament openers and will want to open their accounts.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that Hardik's captaincy moves will be in focus in the MI-SRH clash.

"Hardik Pandya will be the No. 1 player in focus. Hardik Pandya's captaincy will be in focus because there will be a question every time about how he is doing it. You are looking at it with a magnifying glass at times. Some people like something and others find it wrong," he reasoned (1:55).

"It remains to be seen whether they will play Luke Wood, and if they do, will they give him just one over? Will he again take the new ball in his hand? You have Jasprit Bumrah, Luke Wood and Gerald Coetzee. If you have a fast-bowling attack like that, should Hardik bowl with the new ball?" the former India opener added.

Chopra pointed out that where Hardik himself comes to bat is also a big question. He observed that the Mumbai Indians skipper seemed to be in great form, considering the six he hit over cover, but needs to come up the order and play a decent number of deliveries.

---

"As every match passes, the pressure will mount" - Aakash Chopra on Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan was dismissed for a duck against the Gujarat Titans. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra named Ishan Kishan as the second Mumbai Indians player he will keenly follow.

"The second player I am again going to look towards is Ishan Kishan. He came to the last match with a huge reputation and expectation that he would score runs. Azmatullah Omarzai dismissed him quickly. As every match passes, the pressure will mount. So Ishan Kishan will be a major focal point for me," he explained (2:55).

The cricketer-turned-commentator chose Luke Wood as the third MI player he is eager to watch.

"I am picking a slightly out-of-the-box player as the third one. I am picking Luke Wood. Bumrah is bowling well in any case and Gerald Coetzee also had a good debut, Piyush Chawla is bowling decently, but Luke Wood has a huge amount of potential. If he bowls two or three overs in the powerplay, he will pick up one or two wickets," Chopra elaborated.

Wood conceded six runs in the only over he bowled with the new ball against the Gujarat Titans. He was reintroduced into the attack in the 18th over and was carted all around the park by Rahul Tewatia.