“Play the game that suits you, we need runs from you” - Virender Sehwag on what advice Hardik Pandya should give GT opener Shubman Gill

Former Indian batter Virender Sehwag reckons that Hardik Pandya and the Gujarat Titans (GT) management must give Shubman Gill full freedom to play his natural game, but expect results in return. Sehwag pointed out that even if Gill takes a bit of time to score runs, Gujarat have the batting firepower to cover it up.

Gill, 22, scored 84 and 96, respectively, in GT’s second and third matches of IPL 2022. However, in the last seven innings, he has a highest score of just 31.

The youngster’s performance will be under the scanner when Gujarat take on the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, May 6. Previewing the match, Sehwag was asked what advice GT skipper Pandya and the IPL team management can give Gill. During a discussion on Cricbuzz, he replied:

“They should simply tell him - ‘play the game that suits you, we need runs from you. Whether you score at a strike rate of 120 or 150, just score runs’. If Gill bats for the first seven to eight overs, then their big-hitters like David Miller and Rahul Tewatia come into the game. If they walk in early, as they did in the last game, they struggle because they are unsure of whether to attack or defend. Even if Gujarat are 80 after 10 overs, their batters have the ability to score 120 in the remaining 10 overs.”

David Miller, Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan have been brilliant for Gujarat with the bat, winning them games from difficult positions. All three registered low scores in the team’s previous match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), a game they went on to lose by eight wickets.

The detailed IPL 2022 schedule are available here.

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“They should not take any game lightly” - Virender Sehwag warns GT

Despite obvious weaknesses in their batting, Gujarat decided to bat first after winning the toss against Punjab. Their deficiencies were exposed as they only managed to put up 143 for eight.

Advising GT to shun all experiments, Sehwag warned the franchise against taking any game lightly and stated:

“GT must not experiment with batting first. This (Brabourne) is a small ground and there are greater chances of a total being chased down. They must make well-thought-out decisions from here and aim to finish in the top two. They should not take any game lightly.”

Gujarat are currently leading the IPL point table with eight wins from 10 matches. The other IPL debutants, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), are second with 14 points from 10 games.