Former Indian fast bowler Mohit Sharma wants Royal Challengers Bengaluru to include Jacob Duffy in their playing XI in place of Romario Shepherd for the IPL 2026 clash against Gujarat Titans. Shepherd has snared three wickets in five innings at an average of 45.33 and a high economy rate of 15.11.
Meanwhile, Duffy has scalped six wickets in three games of IPL 2026 at an average of 23 and an economy rate of 11.50. Sharma reckons playing Duffy in place of Shepherd will give RCB’s bowling more strength.
“You should play Jacob Duffy in place of Romario. It will be a tactical change and it will be a good change for their bowling. It will give them strength. You can push Krunal up and Rasikh bats a bit as well. If you need batting till number eight then anyways you are in trouble. Your top seven are strong. They should think about improving the bowling strength. You will have proper six bowlers then,” he said on Cricbuzz.
On the other hand, former Indian opener Virender Sehwag reckons RCB will need to bat better as they are coming off from a break.
“You will lose a game or two. That is okay. But they are playing well. But they will hope that the batting collapse does not come now. If that happens in the next two or three games, then gaining the momentum will be difficult. They have had a long gap as well. So coming after a gap, they need to make sure they bat well,” he stated.
Sehwag added that Gujarat Titans will need to bring in all-rounder Jason Holder to strengthen their middle order as Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan are not doing anything substantial.
“Gujarat will have to make changes. They need to see if they have better players for their middle order in the bench. Maybe they can bring in Jason Holder. I dont think they even have many options sitting outside but. Someone in the middle has to score runs. They had Rutherford and let him go. He would have been a better choice. Tewatia and Shahrukh are not doing anything from the last few seasons. They need some replacements and should have had better choices there,” he said. (via the aforementioned source)
RCB and GT will take on each other on Friday.
