IPL 2017: 5 reasons why Gujarat Lions should play Irfan Pathan

#3 The Gujarat lower middle-order

Irfan Pathan can be a handy player down the order

Gujarat Lions do not exactly have the kind of strong lower middle-order that teams are expected to have in the IPL. James Faulkner isn't the kind of batsman he once was and Jadeja has been shabby with bat and ball this season. With the loss of Brendon McCullum as well, Dwyane Smith would be pushed to open the batting.

This means that after Dinesh Karthik at 5, Lions have little batting fire-power. A natural striker of the cricket ball, Pathan could be the right answer for Gujarat in the lower order. They could, of course, replace McCullum with another top order player, but they really have plenty of them and need a lower-order all-rounder like Pathan.