Former England skipper Michael Vaughan questioned Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill’s captaincy after they suffered a three-wicket loss against Punjab Kings at New Chandigarh on Tuesday. Gill brought Prasidh Krishna into the attack in the 13th over and Vaughan reckons the lanky pacer could have bowled one over in the first half of the innings.
Defending 163, Krishna was able to keep his team alive as he bagged three quick wickets. The Karnataka pacer accounted for PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh, and Marcus Stoinis. Krishna eventually returned with impressive figures of 3-29 in his quota of four overs, but GT ended on the wrong side of the result.
Michael Vaughan said on Cricbuzz, “Even though it looked great because Prasidh got the wickets, I’ve never seen a bowler bowl four on the bounce at the backend of a T20. It’s not easy for a bowler to keep delivering while maintaining composure under that kind of pressure. So he (Gill) could have used Prasidh in the first ten just for one and left him with three at the backend.”
He added, “Prasidh Krishna coming into bowl four in four at the back end. What are they doing? But it nearly worked for them. Tactically, Shubman Gill went against the grain and tried something different, which nearly paid off. The challenge in these kinds of tight games is that Shubman Gill will be highlighted and examined more because he used Prasidh four on the bounce at the backend.”
Vaughan also questioned Gill for backing debutant Ashok Sharma when he could have bowled experienced Mohammed Siraj at the fag end of the innings.
He concluded, “When you lose a tight game, people are going to ask why you didn’t bowl Siraj or why you left Prasidh four at the end? It was a huge gamble. To bowl the young quick at the time that he did, when you’ve got Siraj with a little bit left in the locker, that’s a big gamble. It’s a lot of trust and faith in a young bowler. But it’s nights like this that are hard as a captain because he didn’t quite get it right at the backend.”
Gujarat Titans will next take on Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Saturday.
