The former Indian international, Aakash Chopra has given a warning to the young Indian opening batter, Abhishek Sharma who faces his biggest test as he is set to go up against the Kolkata Knight Riders for the first qualifier of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024).
The former KKR man suggested that the explosive left-handed batter will be tested against the lethal mystery-spin duo of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy for the all-important playoff clash.
Abhishek has been having the best season of his IPL career having found his groove at the top of the batting order along with the Australian international Travis Head and the two have garnered a reputation for being particularly aggressive with the bat and helping Sunrisers notch up massive totals.
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In IPL 2024, Abhishek has already amassed 467 runs at a strike rate of 209.41. He is also the leading six-hitter in the tournament with 41 maximums. But Chopra believes that the opening pair will have to remain wary of the spin-duo.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, ” I feel Abhishek Sharma will open for India on the Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka tours. He plays extremely well and will have to play even better in this match because you will get Sunil Narine and Varun Chakaravarthy in the opposition. Spin might be introduced early because of Travis Head. So you will have to get an Indian batter to neutralise spin – that’s Abhishek Sharma”.
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Head on the other hand has shown considerable weakness to the spinners and Shreyas Iyer could deploy either spinner very early in the powerplay to curb the explosive threat the opening pair brings especially in the powerplay.
In IPL 2024, Varun Chakravarthy remains as KKR’s leading wicket-taker for the season with 18 while Sunil Narine is not too far behind with 15 wickets respectively.
Aakash delivered praise for Head’s overall performance for the season and reflected on his performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad where he scored the match-winning century to give the Aussies the title.
“Travis Head likes this pitch. He scored runs here in the World Cup final and defeated us very badly. Bowlers try to bowl towards his body to dismiss him but he is explosive. Nitish Reddy is in very good form. So he is doing well. The No. 3 batter seemed to be a weakness but Rahul Tripathi played well in the last match,” he added.
The battle between two of the most entertaining sides in this IPL will be a tightly fought contest with the two sides looking to get the win tonight to give them direct entry to the final which will take place at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on May 26, Sunday.
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