Before Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) play in the IPL 2024, Aakash Chopra said Arshdeep Singh did not do very well. The two teams will compete in Chennai on May 1.
PBKS has six points from nine games and is eighth. They may need to win all five games left to make the playoffs.
In a YouTube video, Aakash Chopra identified Arshdeep as the Punjab Kings bowler to keep an eye on in Wednesday’s encounter.
“Since Arshdeep Singh has been selected now, let’s look towards Arsh. To be very honest, he is not bowling that well. He was bowling back-of-the-hand slower ones against Sunil Narine. I was asking why he was doing that. He was bowling wides.”
“The confidence is not coming, which should come, because Arshdeep is very close to my heart. Please Arsh, you need to bowl well in this match, pitch the ball full, and bring it in. Ruturaj (Gaikwad) has slight difficulties against left-armers, so please do the needful. Bowl well at the death also. You might get Mahi (MS Dhoni) in front of you, that could be a good contest.”
Aakash Chopra
Arshdeep is PBKS’ equal second-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2024, alongside Sam Curran and trailing only Harshal Patel (14). However, the Indian left-arm seamer has been pricey, giving 9.63 runs per over. He would aim to improve his performance ahead of the T20 World Cup.
“My first player to watch out for is Jonny Bairstow” – Aakash Chopra on PBKS batters in focus
Aakash Chopra picked Jonny Bairstow as the first Punjab Kings player to look at against the Chennai Super Kings.
“My first player to watch out for is Jonny Bairstow, although I feel they (CSK) will trap him in this match. They will bowl wide or within the three stumps after keeping square leg back. They will figure out, and if Deepak Chahar gets the ball to swing, he will be more than a handful.”
Aakash Chopra
The well-known analyst is especially excited to see Shashank Singh continue his impressive run with the bat.
“The second player – of course, I don’t look beyond Shashank these days because he bats with great maturity. He not only has power but a lot of cricketing smarts, that which bowler needs to be hit, when, in which direction, and how hard. He was defending against Sunil Narine that day (in the last game against KKR).”
Aakash Chopra
Shashank Singh is the leading run-scorer for PBKS in IPL 2024, with 263 runs at a strike rate of 182.63 in nine innings. The middle-order batsman hit an unbeaten 68 off 28 deliveries in his team’s record 262-run chase against the Kolkata Knight Riders.