Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan questioned Shubman Gill’s captaincy, stating things could have been different if the GT skipper had brought Prasidh Krishna earlier into the attack. GT suffered a three-wicket loss against Punjab Kings at New Chandigarh on Tuesday as they could not defend 163.
Gill introduced Krishna, previous season’s Purple Cap holder, in the 13th over when PBKS were motoring along at 110-2 after 12 overs. However, the lanky was able to straight away make an impact, dismissing PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer on his first delivery.
Krishna returned with impressive figures of 3-29 in his quota of four overs but GT could not defend their total.
“He could have been brought in earlier for sure because of the way he made an impact with his first ball itself. You allowed the game to drift a little. Every team has a game plan for sure. Seeing Prasidh Krishna, it seems like he is a middle-overs enforcer for Gujarat,” Irfan Pathan said on JioHotstar.
“However, coming in the 13th over was two overs late in my opinion. As soon as the ninth or 10th over’s time came, if he had been brought in there, things might have been different,” he added.
Pathan praised Krishna for his impressive performance with the ball and said he started from where he left in the previous season.
“He bowled extremely well. He started from where he ended last season. He was the Purple Cap winner. You will see him using the length very well. He used to try a lot to bowl full earlier, but you will see a mixture here. You will see the four to six-meter length when he bowls the slower ones. He uses the hard length,” he said.
“He will set the batters there and push them back by using bouncers. The mixture and the control he has on his action, the ability is seen now. It felt good seeing him bowl regularly. He didn’t even use the yorker much. He can use that as well. So, overall, he looked like an extremely improved bowler,” Pathan observed.
Krishna accounted for Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh, and Marcus Stoinis.
Gujarat Titans will next take on Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Saturday.
