"This team cannot progress without Travis Head scoring runs" - Aakash Chopra on SunRisers Hyderabad players in focus in IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 vs RR
Aakash Chopra has claimed that the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) will not make it through to the IPL 2024 final if Travis Head doesn't fire with the bat. SRH will face the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Qualifier 2 in Chennai on Friday, May 24.
Head has smashed 533 runs at a strike rate of 199.62 in 13 innings this season. However, the Australian opener was dismissed for ducks against left-arm seamers in his last two innings and will be confronted with Trent Boult and potentially Nandre Burger in Friday's game.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that the opening pair of Head and Abhishek Sharma is the SunRisers Hyderabad's biggest strength and chose the former as their first player in focus.
"Their strength is their two openers. If these two openers start firing, no one is able to stop them. They turn the match in their favor in the first eight to 10 overs. Travis Head has gone down a little, gotten out two successive times, but you expect him to play well. So the first player is Travis Head," he said (7:20).
"Travis Head's numbers batting first are very good. Trent Boult hasn't troubled him that much, although he could have got out last time. Riyan Parag dropped a catch. So they might try to trap Travis Head in the same way once again. However, he scored a fifty against this team last time. This team cannot progress without Travis Head scoring runs," the former India opener added.
Chopra picked Abhishek as the second SRH player to watch out for.
"My second player is Abhishek Sharma because he is batting very well. If Travis Head is scoring runs in the first innings, Abhishek Sharma is scoring runs in the second innings. If he keeps batting like this, you never know, he might play for India soon. Times are changing, the Indian selectors have already started focusing on the next generation," he elaborated.
Abhishek is the SunRisers Hyderabad's second-highest run-getter in IPL 2024. The youngster has smoked 470 runs at a strike rate of 207.04 in 14 innings.
"If they get on a roll, it's very difficult to bring them down" - Aakash Chopra on SunRisers Hyderabad's batting might
![Nitish Kumar Reddy has impressed with the bat for SRH. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/05/c1c52-17165253157186-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra noted that the SunRisers Hyderabad are virtually unstoppable if their batters get on a roll.
"The thing that goes in favor of this team is that, because of the type of cricket they have played, if they get on a roll, it's very difficult to bring them down. Rahul Tripathi is batting well now. Nitish Reddy plays very well against spin, scored 70-odd runs against this team last time, and hit massive sixes," he said (12:15).
However, the reputed commentator added that the lack of batting depth could prove to be SRH's stumbling block.
"After that, they have Heinrich Klaasen. So Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, the two openers, then Heinrich Klaasen and two Indians in the middle. This is both a strength and a weakness because only Abdul Samad and Shahbaz Ahmed are left after that. So they are seen slightly stumbling there," Chopra observed.
Chopra urged the SunRisers Hyderabad to include either Aiden Markram or Glenn Phillips as an additional batter in their playing combination. He noted that Vijayakanth Viyaskanth can make way for Mayank Markande to allow them to play an additional overseas batter.