Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath praised Chennai Super Kings captain Ruturaj Gaikwad after the franchise secured an eight-wicket win against Mumbai Indians at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Saturday.

Gaikwad scored a match-winning knock of 67 runs off 48 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes in the run chase of 160. The CSK skipper added a match-winning alliance of 98 runs off 75 balls with Kartik Sharma, who scored 54 runs off 40 balls. Gaikwad was awarded Player of the Match, and Badrinath said this knock would give him a lot of confidence.

Badrinath said on his YouTube Channel, “Everyone has been harsh in their criticism of Ruturaj Gaikwad, both his batting and captaincy. Though the target wasn’t high, he played extremely well. Back-to-back half-centuries and a Player of the Match award will give him a lot of self-belief. If CSK have to qualify for the playoffs and win the trophy, Ruturaj Gaikwad, the batter, is very important. As a batter, he is needed for CSK.”

However, Badrinath questioned CSK’s batting order despite the comprehensive win. The former CSK batter wants Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis to bat ahead of Kartik Sharma.

“Kartik Sharma scored a half-century and CSK won the game. But if CSK have to win several matches and win the tournament, it’s going to be Dewald Brevis who’s going to win you the tournament. It’s going to be Shivam Dube who will win you the tournament. Who will perform if you have to beat an RCB in an Eliminator? It has to be Brevis or Dube. If it’s 60 needed off 30, one of these two only has to do it. So CSK should have backed these two in such a match up the order,” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).

Chennai Super Kings will next take on Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Tuesday.