Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth questioned Chennai Super Kings questioned Chennai Super Kings’ decision to retire out Ayush Mhatre during the clash against Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on Saturday.
CSK registered a 23-run win to claim their maiden victory of the season. However, Mhatre retired out after scoring 59 runs off 36 balls with the help of three fours and four sixes. The youngster added 113 runs off 68 balls with Sanju Samson for the second wicket.
After Mhatre was called back, Shivam Dube scored a cameo of 10-ball 20, whereas Sanju Samson scored an unbeaten knock of 115.
Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “He shouldn’t have been subbed out. Instead, he only should have gone for it, and if he got out, it was fine. Mhatre was also going at a 200 strike rate before getting stuck a bit. But it was not fair to sub him out.”
The 1983 World Cup-winning player praised Sanju Samson for his superb knock after three mundane performances.
He added, “He went back to the basics. He went to timing and not power-hitting. He didn’t hit a six at all in the powerplay. He played the touch game and played the ball late. The greatness of his knock was how the strike rate was always 200. This will not only give him confidence, but the team will be extremely confident after his knock. Samson was just oozing class and played with effortless ease.”
Meanwhile, CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad struggled to get going as he managed 15 runs off 18 balls, and Srikkanth questioned the right-hander’s strike rate.
“In the T20 format as an opener, his scoring rate is not at all acceptable. He is not able to get the strike going. If he can get going, CSK have the batting to score 230 against any bowling. The Ruturaj Gaikwad-Sanju Samson will become vital in the upcoming games,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
Srikkanth, the former aggressive batter, said Gaikwad should demote himself in the batting order after four failures.
He concluded, “The opening pair should be Ayush Mhatre and Sanju Samson. Ruturaj should come in at No.3 to play the sheet anchor role. This way your momentum will not get stuck. The second half of last year, Mhatre did brilliantly opening. That’s why Ruturaj coming in at No.3 is better than opening.”
Chennai Super Kings will next take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Tuesday.
