NEWS
Follow UsWith scores of 11, 0, 21, 33 and 15, it's safe to say that Shubman Gill is not having the best of tournaments so far. However, despite Gill's poor run of form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) chief mentor David Hussey reckons he will finish as one of the highest run-getter in the tournament.
"One thing I do know is that he took the Test match arena by storm in Australia," Hussey said in the post-match virtual media conference.
"The way he works on his game in the nets, he's very specific. He's got a great work ethic and I reckon all I can say is probably form will come and go, but class is always permanent. He is one class individual off the field but also an exceptionally talented player on the field. Mark my words he'll be one of the highest-scoring individuals by the end of the tournament. He's an absolute class act," he added.
Rahul Tripathi was the only batsman for KKR to score over 30 against Rajasthan Royals (RR), while Dinesh Karthik (25) and Nitish Rana (22) got off to starts. None of the batsmen could, however, stick it out till the end, despite it being a decent batting surface in Mumbai. Andre Russell, who could have potentially turned the game around came it at No. 7 with just 28 balls remaining in the innings.
Hussey did not rule out Russell batting higher than he has in the tournament. "Really, we just needed to get a partnership going at that stage when Andre was ready to come in next. Dre is probably at his scintillating best when he has maybe three or four overs to go and he can hit 30 or 40 runs off about 15 balls and yeah, in a perfect world, he can go at No. 3 and make 200 I guess, but wasn't tonight. Yeah, maybe look at all strategies when it comes to the batting going forward with the Kings to play in a couple of days' time, and yeah, everything's on the table," Hussey said.
Hussey also did not rule out Lockie Ferguson's inclusion in the upcoming games.
Speaking of the New Zealand fast bowler, Hussey said, "Lockie is a class act and an excellent bowler for New Zealand. He particularly played well for Kolkata last year. He's handy in the death, but he'll also push the selection over the remaining games. Think everyone is on the table in terms of selection and we've got some tough decisions to make. We've going to start winning some games and I think everything will be discussed."
KKR play the next four matches at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, beginning with the game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday (April 29). They are at the bottom of the table so far, having picked up just a couple of matches from five matches.
