Assistant coach Parthiv Patel of the Gujarat Titans said on Sunday that the team’s middle order has been the subject of outside criticism, but he maintained that the team is unfazed because it continues to perform well under pressure.
Although the lower middle order, especially Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan, has come under fire for its finishing, GT enters the game fresh off a five-wicket victory against Kolkata Knight Riders.
“I know there is lot of external talk about GT’s middle order, but as far as we are concerned, we are quite okay with the way it’s been happening,” PTI quoted Parthiv as saying during the press conference ahead of their home game against Mumbai Indians.
Asked about Tewatia and Shahrukh, Parthiv replied: “Obviously they finished the job, so whatever deliveries they can get, they are doing the job and having said that, if you are trying to compare the number of runs and the situation, it’s not going to be equal for any team.
“So our top order is great, we are very happy the way the top order has been batting … but for us, Tewatia has finished the last two games and Shahrukh (Khan) stayed not out, so we are not worried about it.”
The middle order was criticized for failing to step up in their first two defeats against Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings.
“Just looking at obviously both of them, (Rahul) Tewatia in last two games, he was not out and he is someone who handles the pressure really well,” Patel said.
“Obviously our top 3 (Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler) are spending a lot of time in the middle, so they are not getting enough balls anyway, so their role is completely different.
“Even if I can jog your memories back to last year, when we needed 10 of 1 over against Delhi, Tewatia came in and hit a six of reversing ball of Michel Starc, so he has done the job, even yesterday Shahrukh stayed not out.”
Ashok Sharma, a young bowler who has taken six wickets in five games this season, was also commended by Patel.
Patel said: “He is definitely an exciting talent, we saw him during Syed Mushtaq Ali here in Ahmedabad and he is someone who has pace and someone who consistently can bowl over 145-150.
“With that he has a lot of variations also and he is a smart bowler. It’s not something that he just wants to bowl fast but he also understands the game, he reads the game really well, so we are fortunate to have a youngster who can clock around 145-150 consistently.”
Prasidh Krishna, who has taken 11 wickets so far to become their best bowler, was also praised by Patel.
“Prasidh has been great, we saw last year also he had the Purple Cap (highest wicket-taker), so he understands his role. He has been bowling really well, so it’s great to see that he is carrying his form, what he had done in last season as well.”
Patel stated that GT will not take the Mumbai Indians lightly even if they have lost four straight games.
“That’s the beauty of this competition, any team can turn it around. We’ve had that experience last year when CSK and LSG were not playing well, they came here and they beat us in the last two games and then we could not finish in the top two.
“So it’s not a question of the form as well, we’ve seen a lot of times that Mumbai Indians has that ability to make a comeback and I’ve been part of a couple of them as well, but those are the things which actually doesn’t matter.
“At this point of time, we would be focusing on what we can do at the best of our ability.”
