Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan slammed Royal Challengers Bengaluru despite the team’s 18-run win against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday. Pathan questioned the franchise’s think tank for continuing with Rasikh Salam when the fast bowler from Jammu and Kashmir was struggling with calf cramps.
Salam struggled with his cramps while bowling the 16th over of the innings as physio Patrick Farhart had to attend him on two occasions. Eventually, the medium pacer could only bowl five deliveries in his third over and his over was completed by Romario Shepherd. He returned with figures of 1-23 in 2.5 overs he bowled, and dismissed Naman Dhir.
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “I have played cricket, and I know that if you push yourself while carrying an injury, your pace drops and the injury can get worse. I have experienced it myself. That should not have been done. RCB did everything well except this one thing. They should have asked Rasikh to go off and said, ‘We’ll use you later when needed.
Pathan said RCB could have lost Rasikh’s services if the injury had become serious.
“If the injury becomes serious, he himself won’t be able to play, and the team could lose a quality bowler. If it’s just a cramp, that’s different. But if it’s a strain, especially in the calf, it can worsen and you might be out for at least two weeks. Hopefully, it was just a cramp, because the way he bowls, he can be very important as a backup option when needed,” he added.
He continued, “There was no need to push Rasikh at that point. As a senior player, someone from the Bengaluru camp should have told him, ‘You’ve already put in the effort and taken a wicket, you can go off now, it’s okay.’ There was no need to push him further after that. He conceded only around 15 runs in his first two overs. Yes, he was hit later but also picked up a wicket. He is a good bowler.”
The former swing bowler praised Phil Salt, who scored a blistering knock of 78 runs off just 36 balls, with the help of six fours and as many sixes.
“He was batting very bravely, and the way he scored 22 runs in that over against Santner in the powerplay showed that he handled both pace and spin very well. He also made great use of the bounce on this pitch. He was waiting nicely and did not move across too early unless he got the right length. That was a very good strategy from him, and it is the reason he succeeded and scored a fine half-century.”
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next take on Lucknow Super Giants at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
