"No one will talk about the strike rate" - Aakash Chopra picks Virat Kohli among RCB players in focus in IPL 2024 clash vs GT
Ahead of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2024 clash against the Gujarat Titans (GT), Aakash Chopra has noted that there shouldn't be any discussions about Virat Kohli's strike rate.
The two sides will face off at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, May 4. With six points from 10 games, RCB are placed last on the points table. A win against the Titans will keep their slim hopes of qualifying for the playoffs alive.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Kohli as one of the RCB players in focus in Saturday's game. He expressed hope about the former India skipper becoming one of the few 2024 T20 World Cup squad members to excel in the IPL after their selections.
"I have a different wish. At the time of recording, whichever player's name has come in the World Cup team, after that, his first match has been extremely cold, whether it is Rohit (Sharma), Hardik (Pandya), Surya (Suryakumar Yadav), Jasprit (Bumrah), Yuzi (Yuzvendra) Chahal or Sanju Samson. Only Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a few runs," he said (2:45).
"So I am thinking that Virat Kohli should also score runs. I am expecting runs from Virat Kohli and if Bengaluru have to win, he needs to stay there. You don't know what you will get from Maxi (Glenn Maxwell). No one will talk about the strike rate. They will only talk about the hitting," the former India opener added.
Kohli is the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2024. His 500 runs at a strike rate of 147.49 in 10 innings is just nine short of Ruturaj Gaikwad's tally.
"He has got stuck against spin" - Aakash Chopra on RCB skipper Faf du Plessis
![Faf du Plessis fell prey to Sai Kishore in RCB's previous clash against GT. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/05/c1ea9-17148006675365-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra chose Faf du Plessis as another RCB player in focus against GT.
"Win the toss first, and then chase and win. I am talking about Faf du Plessis. He is the captain and is also a good batter. Can they start with spin against him? That will remain a big question because he has got stuck against spin. He got out to the first over of spin in the last match as well," he said (1:15).
The reputed commentator chose Will Jacks as the third RCB player to watch out for in Saturday's game.
"Who can be the third player I will be focusing on? It's going to be Will Jacks again because he is jack of all trades but master of batting and hitting. He plays big shots. His second fifty in the last match came off 10-odd balls. He was hitting sixes one after the other," Chopra reasoned (3:20).
"You can try to trap him with spin at the start. So throw a lot of spin at him. However, if the starting run-a-ball phase passes, he hits a lot. He hits everything towards midwicket and square leg. So you might think that you can trap him there. Whether you will be able to do that or not - I don't know," the former KKR player added.
Jacks smoked an unbeaten 100 off just 41 deliveries in RCB's away game against GT in Ahmedabad on April 28. He reached his fifty off 31 balls and raced to his century off the next 10 deliveries.