"He plays well once he comes to this ground": Aakash Chopra on Ajinkya Rahane ahead of MI-CSK clash in Wankhade

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 14 (ANI): Ahead of the clash between the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, former India opener Aakash Chopra said veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane will be one of the players to watch out for.

MI will lock horns with CSK in the 29th encounter of the IPL 2024 at Mumbai's Wankhade Stadium on Sunday.

"The second, I am doing a slightly left-right selection because the last time this guy played here, he played incredibly well - Ajinkya Rahane. No matter how he plays in other places, he plays well once he comes to this ground because he knows this pitch very well. There is pace on this surface and it suits him," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"I am split between Mustafizur and Pathirana as the third player. If Pathirana plays, then Matheesha Pathirana. If he doesn't play, then Mustafizur Rahman because you need some quality fast bowling to stop the opposing team's batting juggernaut. You need bowlers who can roll their fingers over the ball, bowl accurate yorkers, and don't come under pressure if they are hit for a few fours and sixes," the commentator added.

The five-time champions are currently in third position in the IPL 2024 points table, with six points in five matches in the cash-rich league. After the completion of five matches, the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side has a net run rate of +0.666.

CSK squad for IPL 2024: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Rachin Ravindra, Ajinkya Rahane, Daryl Mitchell, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Sameer Rizvi, MS Dhoni (wk), Deepak Chahar, Maheesh Theekshana, Mustafizur Rahman, Tushar Deshpande, Shardul Thakur, Shaik Rasheed, Moeen Ali, Nishant Sindhu, Mitchell Santner, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prashant Solanki, Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh, RS Hangargekar, Aravelly Avanish. (ANI)