Gujarat Titans are dependent on two to three batters: Wasim Jaffer

The Gujarat Titans (GT) have done well in their debut IPL campaign to secure three victories in four league matches so far. In their last outing, the team lost their unbeaten run in the tournament by failing to defend 162 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). They are currently facing the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their fifth fixture of this season. The former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer discussed the deficiencies of the Titans in the batting department and hailed the Sunrisers for their mindset against GT spinner Rashid Khan.

Jaffer reckoned that Matthew Wade has not been in good form, which is putting a little bit of pressure on Shubman Gill to be a key contributor. He thinks that the team may bring in Afghanistan wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who is an explosive batter in the T20 format, and further said that Hardik is struggling against the spinners due to his lack of experience at the number four position in the IPL and international cricket.

“Wade is not contributing consistently, so the load is certainly on Gill to spend more time on the crease and is doing the bulk of the scoring. A player like Gurbaz is in the squad and can get the opportunity in the upcoming games due to his recent performance. Hardik has not batted at the number four position before this season, that’s why he gets entangled against the spinners. The likes of Abhinav Manohar and Sai Sudharsan are inexperienced, and Tewatia comes late as well. I think they are dependent on the contributions of two to three batters,” said Jaffer on Sky247.net presents ‘Not Just Cricket Show’ on CricTracker.

Every team can follow SRH’s template against Gujarat Titans: Jaffer 

Jaffer was impressed by the Sunrisers’ performance against the Titans, where they played out Rashid in a cautious manner and attacked the fifth bowling option, Darshan Nalkande, thereby winning the match. He further said that Tewatia should look to get wickets, rather than trying to contain runs, which will be of great help to the Titans in the upcoming matches.

“The SRH followed the template of not giving wickets to Rashid and instead attacked the fifth and sixth bowler, while Lockie had a very bad day. Tewatia is not a wicket-taking option, he can only contain runs. But in T20, if you don’t have a wicket-taking mindset, it can get tough. The other teams can also follow them to take 20-25 runs from Rashid, and target other bowlers, which is the right strategy,” Jaffer added.