As Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) is set to face Rajasthan Royals in the 16th IPL 2026 match in Guwahati on April 10, former Indian batsman Aakash Chopra has made a bold comment on the fight between Virat Kohli and Sandeep Sharma.
Chopra believes that the Virat Kohli vs Sandeep Sharma battle could decide the fate of this high-voltage encounter between RCB and RR as both the teams are in tremendous form and have not lost any game so far this season. While RR leads the points table with 6 points, RCB is at third place with 4 points.
Aakash Chopra picks Sandeep Sharma as the toughest RR threat for Virat Kohli
Ahead of the RR vs RCB clash in Guwahati, Aakash Chopra highlights Virat Kohli’s struggle against Sandeep. The Indian batting superstar may be ruling the IPL and is also the all-time leading run scorer, but his numbers against the fast bowlers are not at all impressive.
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Sandeep has dismissed the flamboyant right-handed batsman seven times in their IPL meetings so far. Kohli could score only 132 runs at a strike rate of 150 and an average of around 19.
The commentator said that Virat Kohli likes the timing of fast bowlers, but Sandeep’s slow and skid balls create problems for him. Given this, Chopra feels that their fight will be thrilling to watch; Wait for the fans in Guwahati on Friday.
“Sandeep Sharma vs Virat Kohli is again a story because he (Kohli) doesn’t have very good numbers against him (Sandeep). The strike rate is good but the numbers are not very good. He doesn’t like playing with Sandeep Sharma because he doesn’t provide pace,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
RR’s new ball fires vs RCB’s in-form batsmen
Chopra also mentioned other key battles to watch out for in the upcoming IPL 2026 clash. He believes that the new ball will play a big role, hence Virat Kohli, Phil Salt and Devdutt Padikkal will decide the fate of RCB as Jofra Archer and Nandre Berger are on fire.
The cricket pundit said, “Jofra Archer and Nandre Berger will ask tough questions with the new ball. Phil Salt scored a few runs in the last match. So, the focus will be on them. Devdutt Padikkal is in dream form. Most of his runs have come against RR. So it will be worth watching.”
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Can Vaibhav Suryavanshi also destroy the RCB attack?
Chopra is excited to see how Rajasthan Royals’ 15-year-old opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi will tackle the RCB attack featuring Jacob Duffy and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, the youngster has already thrashed world-class bowlers like Matt Henry, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult without any fear.
And the commentator said, “Once again, Vaibhav versus the opposition bowlers. A lot of focus will be on him. Will he now do the same with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jacob Duffy? That’s the big question.”
Aakash Chopra highlights RCB’s weakest link
Chopra also issued a realistic warning to the defending champions against the Royals. He admitted that RCB may have the strongest batting lineup in IPL 2026, but their bowling could land them in trouble in Guwahati.
He said, “RCB is the most explosive team in this league. Everyone keeps hitting from No. 1 to No. 8 or No. 9. It can be very difficult to stop that team, but if they have a weakness, they reduce the opposition to 29/3 or whatever, but then score 200. If RCB are worried, the bowling often looks under a bit of pressure.”