Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra shared his analysis of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, April 25.
Chopra said that both teams, who are languishing at the foot of the points table, are playing an ordinary brand of cricket. However, the cricketer-turned-expert mentioned that Pat Cummins and Co. have a slight edge over the five-time champions on Friday.
“Hyderabad are aboard the same boat as Chennai. If we do man-to-man marking, I would say the scales are still tilted a little towards Hyderabad. However, very little to choose between the two. Both are playing an ordinary brand of cricket,” Chopra said in a video uploaded on his official YouTube channel.
Chopra noted that SRH had kept Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari, and Harshal Patel in their starting XI in their most recent fixture against Mumbai Indians and kept Mohammed Shami among the Impact Substitutes. However, because of a batting collapse in the first innings, they had to bring in Abhinav Manohar as the Impact Player, forcing Shami to watch proceedings from the outside.
“They (SRH) said last time that Jaydev Unadkat, Zeeshan Ansari and Harshal Patel are more valuable to them than Shami in bowling because they didn’t keep Shami in the XI. They kept him in the substitutes, and when there was a collapse in batting, Abhinav Manohar came in, and Shami was out,” he observed.
Chopra opined that SRH tried to bolster their bowling attack in the mega auction by bringing in Harshal Patel and Mohammed Shami, while letting go of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who wasn’t at his best last season. However, the former opening batter felt that while the thinking was right, it hasn’t paid dividends so far.
“It is also a reflection on how Shami’s season has been. It has been absolutely cold. They had thought about upgrading their bowling. They let Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) go as his last year wasn’t good. So they brought in Harshal Patel and Mohammad Shami. They actually were thinking in the right direction, but it’s not turned out to be that way,” Chopra elaborated.
Shami has only taken five wickets from seven games this season, averaging 52.20 and conceding runs at an economy rate of 10.88.
Also Read: IPL 2025: Match 43, CSK vs SRH Match Prediction – Who will win today’s IPL match between CSK vs SRH?
Batting is the problem: Aakash Chopra
Chopra said that bowling hasn’t been the problem for SRH this season. He pointed out that the batters haven’t been able to score runs consistently and that has been the main reason behind SRH’s disappointing season.
“Bowling is not the problem. Batting is the problem. In batting, whoever’s name you take, you feel he hasn’t done well. (Heinrich) Klaasen played well in the last match. Abhishek Sharma played well one day. Aniket Verma played well in one match. Ishan Kishan played well in one match. Travis Head has played well in two or two-and-a-half matches, but that’s about it,” he said.
“They have played well together in just two matches, one was the first match against the Rajasthan Royals, and the other was the run chase they did against the Punjab Kings. Nitish Kumar Reddy hasn’t played well in any match. The huge investments have failed to deliver, and that has been their problem,” Chopra observed.
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