EXCLUSIVE
Follow UsRajasthan Royals (RR) suffered a massive blow when they learnt that their star all-rounder Ben Stokes would miss the rest of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 due to a broken finger. Stokes injured himself while he was attempting to take a catch of Chris Gayle on the boundary in the team's season opener. Having missed the initial stages of the tournament last season, Stokes still notched up 205 runs at 40.71 along with a strike-rate of over 142, which included a century and a fifty in eight innings. RR finished eighth last season and were looking to improve their position this season, with Stokes expected to play a pivotal role. With Stokes out and Jofra Archer’s participation unsure, will RR be able to cope?
Former West Indies captain Brian Lara reckons while Stokes’ loss is tough, they have a couple of players in the squad who could fill his void. Between Liam Livingstone and David Miller, the batting great backs the former to get the nod, beginning with the game against Delhi Capitals (DC) on Thursday (April 15).
“It’s tough for Rajasthan Royals. Ben Stokes is one of the guys I felt would have been exceptional in this tournament. The aggression, the fight, he is going to give you a 110 percent every single time. He’s going to be missed. I’m still very hopeful that Rajasthan Royals and the rest of their crew can pull something together. Jofra Archer and now Ben Stokes. It has made things tougher for them. But I believe that the slight defeat they had in the last game, getting the second-highest total in the IPL so far, still in a losing effort is still a very good effort. I believe they will take something from that game and continue moving forward,” Lara said in a face-off against Criclytics, Cricket.com’s AI-driven prediction platform.
“David Miller is sort of an exposed cricketer in the IPL. I’m not taking anything away from him. Liam Livingstone on the other hand is someone who is very fresh and not every opposition has seen him in his entirety of how good a player he is. So, I would tend to go for him ahead of Miller. See if I can get the best out of him in this match,” he added.
While they may not be in the same league as Stokes, Lara reckons with Livingstone and Miller on the bench and the likes of Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson, who are an integral part of the team, they could still do quite well if they just play positively.
“Liam Livingstone, David Miller – two very good choices to pick from. They’re not Ben Stokes because we know what we’re going to get from him. With Sanju Samson batting the way he did, Jos Buttler still to find some good form, I believe they’re in with a huge chance. I’m not going to back off from my selection because of injury. I’m going to stick with them throughout this tournament,” Lara said on Cricket.com’s Man vs Machine.
He further added, “I’m not sure if they’re going to make the final four, but I feel that some people have already dropped them to the last place because of the injuries to two of their top big dogs. I don’t believe so. For me, they’ve just got to play positive, make the right choices, their captain is an enterprising player. They need him (Samson) to continue playing the way he did (against PBKS). There is not a better innings in the IPL thus far compared to Sanju Samson’s century in that first game.”
Lara believes that someone like Chris Morris – IPL’s most expensive player – should step up to the plate with both bat and ball. “RR have made their international selection already – getting Chris Morris in at a very high price and I’d like to see him come good. It’s important that he plays an important role in that lower middle-order, but also with the ball,” he said.
Speaking of DC, they have yet another Covid scare as fast bowler Anrich Nortje is believed to have tested positive. However, the good news is Kagiso Rabada is still very much in contention to play this game after completing his seven-day quarantine and could play an integral role for the team. Lara, however, is not getting too carried away with Rabada as he reckons that the other teams too have improved drastically and the South African pacer may not be as threatening as he was last year.
“He has been exceptional. Delhi Capitals at the beginning of the tournament (IPL 2020) used him for just one over and people were wondering why he wasn’t getting any wickets in the Powerplay. He was bowling majority of his overs at the backend and picking up all the wickets he needed to, which is very important. When teams were set, he was coming back in those middle overs and picking up a wicket and obviously in the death again. If he’s going to have the same effect as he did in the 2020 IPL – I’m not 100 percent sure,” Lara said of Rabada.
“I think every single team has improved so much – not just on the field – it looked like technically, in the backroom, they’ve been doing a lot of homework. I expect these guys are not going to get nullified, but the effect or the same effect they had with the ball last year, it’s not going to be the same effect they have this year,” he added.