He can trouble Tristan Stubbs and Rishabh Pant at the death

Aakash Chopra reckons Rajasthan Royals (RR) seamer Sandeep Sharma can trouble Tristan Stubbs and Rishabh Pant at the death in his side’s IPL 2024 clash against the Delhi Capitals (DC) in Delhi on Tuesday, May 7. A win for the Royals will help them climb atop the points table and book their berth in the playoffs.

Sandeep has picked up nine wickets at an economy rate of 7.26 in five games this season. However, he went wicketless and conceded 36 runs in his four-over spell in the reverse fixture in Jaipur and will want to be among the wickets in the away game.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Sandeep as the Rajasthan Royals bowler to watch out for in Tuesday’s game.

“I am going with Sandeep Sharma because he is doing things differently. When he bowls with the new ball, he can trap Jake Fraser-McGurk with lack of bounce and pace with a little swing. He is that kind of a bowler. He can trouble Tristan Stubbs and Rishabh Pant at the death,” he reasoned (13:10).

The former India opener chose Yashasvi Jaiswal as the first Rajasthan Royals batter in focus against the Delhi Capitals.

“My focus will be on Yashasvi Jaiswal simply because he is a good guy. He is honest from the heart and is a very good kid. We also want him to be in good form. Till the time he is playing, he seems to be playing well,” Chopra said (9:35).

“He has scored a century but I am giving scope for a few other knocks because this player’s team will go to the playoffs and might be seen playing the final as well, and you want him to score runs,” the former KKR player added.

Jaiswal has amassed 316 runs at a strike rate of 157.21 in 10 innings in IPL 2024. The left-handed opener was castled by Mukesh Kumar for a seven-ball five in the reverse fixture in Jaipur and will want to make a more substantial contribution this time.

“A marked improvement has been seen in his game against short bowling” – Aakash Chopra on Rajasthan Royals’ Riyan Parag

Aakash Chopra picked Riyan Parag as the second Rajasthan Royals batter to watch out for. The renowned commentator praised the youngster for improving his game by leaps and bounds and predicted a bright future for him.

“He is not a spark, he is fire, and his name is Riyan Parag. All of us know that he is hitting but what is he doing differently? A marked improvement has been seen in his game against short bowling. For that, you need to practice a lot, whether it is against the sidearm or a bowling machine, the hard work is evident,” he observed (10:05).

“Pace has not troubled him at all and that has made the difference. If he keeps hitting like this, he will go very far. I am telling you, he will come in the Indian team, he is batting that well,” Chopra added.

Parag has smashed 409 runs at a strike rate of 159.14 in nine innings in IPL 2024. He smoked an unbeaten 84 off 45 deliveries in the Royals’ home win against the Capitals.