Hardik Pandya not bowling is a concern for Gujarat Titans, says Wasim Jaffer

Gujarat Titans (GT) have eight wins in 11 league matches and are in the second position in the IPL 2022 points table. They have lost their momentum after failing to seal the games in the last two outings. The captain of Titans, Hardik Pandya has 333 runs at a strike rate of 134.27 and has four wickets. Although, he started well but has been quite average in the second half of the season. In the latest interaction, the former Indian cricketer’s Wasim Jaffer and Nikhil Chopra discussed the form of Pandya and other players of the GT team.

Jaffer thinks the Titans captain used to ball in the initial matches and was consistent with the bat as well, which made sure they play as a balanced unit. However, after Pandya sustained another injury, the team management has opted to play with an extra pacer, and are one batter short. The former batter further added that the key players like Shubman Gill and Lockie Ferguson have not looked at their best, and there is enough pressure on the experienced Mohammed Shami.

“Titans have to get better with their performance. Earlier Hardik Pandya used to ball and had a good form with the bat. As he was bowling, you could play Abhinav Manohar, which extended your batting line-up. But, now you are one batter short, and Alzarri Joseph is in the XI which is a concern for the team. The likes of Shubman Gill and Lockie Ferguson are not in form, and there is a lot of pressure on Shami,” said Jaffer on Sky247.net presents ‘Not Just Cricket’ Show on CricTracker.

If batters do well, Titans have everything to go till the end: Nikhil Chopra

Chopra thinks the wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has been the most impressive batter for the Titans in the last few league matches. He reckoned that Pandya needs to convert his starts, and Sai Sudharsan will learn to hit sixes as he progresses in his career. The former bowler further added that if Gill and other batters do well, the bowling unit is strong enough to take the team to the finals.

“Only Wriddhiman Saha has been consistent in the batting department. Hardik Pandya has failed to convert his starts, and Sudharsan bats at a strike rate of around and lacks six-hitting capabilities. It’s very important for Shubman Gill to his match-winning form. They have a terrific bowling attack in the presence of Shami, Rashid, and Ferguson, and if batters do well, the team has everything in to go right till the end,” said Chopra.