"Even in first-class cricket, I have seen him get out behind the wickets" - Jaffer feels CSK opener Gaikwad has a weakness against the swinging ball

Former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer reckons that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Ruturaj Gaikwad has some issues against the swinging ball, which he needs to sort out going forward in IPL 2022.

The Chennai batter has registered scores of 0, 1 and 1 in the three matches the defending champions have played so far. He was out caught in the slips for the second time on Sunday as the Punjab Kings (PBKS) hammered CSK by 54 runs.

Reviewing Chennai’s third consecutive loss in IPL 2022, Jaffer admitted that Gaikwad needs to work a bit on his game when it comes to tackling the moving ball. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, he said:

“He does get out nicking. Even in first-class cricket, I have seen him get out behind the wickets. The pitches here (in Mumbai) are helping the fast bowlers. The ball is swinging and it’s not like Dubai, where the ball was on the shorter side. He’s a quality player, but he needs to find a way and come good for CSK to start winning again.”

Despite his poor start, Gaikwad’s former CSK teammate Sam Curran backed the opener to overcome his woes. He also asserted that Chennai have the batting but things are just not coming together for them. The England all-rounder stated:

“Ruturaj showed last season he is a phenomenal player. It’s obviously not going right for them at the moment. The batters are there and they have so much experience – Robbie (Robin Uthappa), (Ambati) Rayudu, (MS) Dhoni and (Ravindra) Jadeja. It’s just not falling on their side.”

Looking for their first win of IPL 2022, Chennai failed to put it across Punjab. Chasing 181, they were dismantled for 126 in 18 overs.

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“He looked quicker than the speed gun showed” - Wasim Jaffer impressed with Vaibhav Arora’s spell against CSK

Chennai were dealt massive blows by rookie PBKS pacer Vaibhav Arora. He not only got the ball to move around but also dismissed Uthappa and Moeen Ali.

Impressed with the bowler’s effort, Jaffer pointed out that Chennai’s batters tried to take on the inexperienced Arora but the ploy backfired. He explained:

“CSK batters knew Arora is playing his first IPL, they wanted to go after him. We saw Liam Livingstone going after Mukesh Chowdhury. But it (Arora’s performance) just shows the value of swing bowling, somebody who can bowl at 130-plus. I felt, he looked quicker than the speed gun showed and he can swing it both ways. He picked up important wickets and Mayank Agarwal handled him really well. Bowled his four overs on the trot.”

Chennai lost half their side for 36 in the chase and only a half-century from Shivam Dube (57) gave their innings some respectability.