Former South African wicket-keeper bat Mark Boucher reckons Royal Challengers Bengaluru must play Phil Salt against GT in the first qualifier if he is fit and batting well in the nets. Rajat Patidar revealed in the pre-match press conference that Salt has almost recovered and he is in contention for selection.
Boucher feels Venkatesh Iyer, who opened in the last game, should move to the middle order and he should replace Jitesh Sharma in the playing XI. Iyer scored an impressive knock of 44 runs off 19 balls in the last game against SRH while opening the innings.
On the other hand, Sharma hasn’t been in the best of forms and he has managed only 90 runs in 10 innings at an average of 10 and a strike rate of 118.42.
Mark Boucher said on ESPN Cricinfo, “If he’s hitting the ball well, and he’s got no injury, then the question would be posed. You don’t get rid of Venkatesh Iyer, he’s in good form, and you want to run with that. He doesn’t have to open the batting; he can also bat a little bit further down the order. Would you then look at Jitesh, who’s maybe been a little bit out of sorts, and let Salt come in and keep, and that’s the change that you make?
“Salt is a match-winner to fast bowling. GT has been really good with Siraj and Rabada picking up wickets. Has RCB got someone in their squad who can take those bowlers on? Yes, they have, Phil Salt. If he’s feeling very good and he’s hitting it sweet in the nets, I’d be itching to try and lay him at the GT bowling.”
On the other hand, former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu concurred with Mark Boucher and said Venkatesh Iyer needs to play.
“I think Venkatesh Iyer needs to play that game, simply because he played brilliantly in the fixture that they played at Dharamshala. He knows the conditions well, so you don’t want to change him. Even against SRH, he gave a decent start, if you look at the last game. So, I wouldn’t change him for a guy who’s coming back from an injury. It’s a big, big gamble at this stage of the tournament.”
RCB will take on GT on Tuesday.
