New Delhi [India] April 7 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) lack a proper drafter in their side, which has become a problem due to the changing nature of the pitch in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
While speaking on Jio Hostar, he pointed out that the pitch, which previously produced high scores, now offers a much lower scoring rate, making it crucial to have players with specific skill sets, including strong spin bowling.
“They don’t really have a drafter on their side because they probably thought they don’t need drafters anymore. But suddenly, this pitch — which produced a 280-plus score just a couple of weeks ago — now offers 150, and we’re discussing them being just 10-15 runs shy. So, 160 could’ve been enough if there was no dew and they had a better spin bowling attack. This pitch has changed. The square is playing differently, and therefore, you need different players with different skill sets,” Jio Star expert Aakash Chopra said while speaking exclusively on Kuhl Fans Match Centre Live on JioHotstar.
Chopra also says that the Gujarat Titans’ batting strength is better suited to faster pitches and that their current batting lineup is not ideal for the current pitch conditions. He questioned the team’s decision to bench experienced spinners like Rahul Chahar and Adam Zampa, who are capable of performing well on spin-friendly surfaces.
“You make this team bat on a cemented surface, and they’ll be head and shoulders above the rest. But on this kind of surface, their accumulated batting isn’t likely to succeed. I don’t understand why Rahul Chahar is warming the bench. They’re playing with one proper spinner — Zeeshan Ansari, an uncapped Indian player. Rahul Chahar is an India-capped player. Adam Zampa, an international-quality leg spinner, is also available, but they’re not playing either of them. That is slightly baffling,” he added.
Sensational ball striking by skipper Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, and Sherfane Rutherford and Mohammed Siraj’s magnificent four-wicket haul were the highlights as GT crushed a reckless SRH at their own den by seven wickets on Sunday.
This is SRH’s fourth defeat on the trot. They have been struggling to score big runs in batting after their initial match against the Rajasthan Royals, where they posted 286/6, with Ishan Kishan scoring a century in his debut match for SRH. Since then, no SRH batter has got runs under their belt. (ANI)