“That kind of batting can be done by Virat Kohli” - Sanjay Manjrekar urges GT skipper Hardik Pandya to play natural game in IPL 2022

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya will do well to stick to his natural game, which involves batting aggressively in the ongoing IPL 2022. According to Manjrekar, Pandya will be more dangerous that way as opposed to batting like a proper No. 4 batter.

The 28-year-old scored an unbeaten half-century in the IPL match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). However, his 50 came off 42 balls, and Gujarat only managed to post 162 for seven while batting first. They went on to lose the game by eight wickets.

GT will now take on the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday. Previewing the game on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar shared his views on Pandya’s batting and opined:

“Hardik Pandya should play like Hardik Pandya and not like a No.4, who tries and plays for the team. Playing the role that salvages the situation, that kind of batting can be done by somebody like a Virat Kohli. Hardik Pandya is see ball, hit the ball. That way, I think, he will do more damage to the opposition.”

The Gujarat skipper has scored 141 runs in four IPL 2022 matches at an average of 47 and a strike rate of 122.61. GT’s loss to SRH was their first in the tournament. They started their campaign with three successive wins.

---

“Riyan Parag should definitely bat higher than Ashwin” - Chris Lynn on RR’s batting order in IPL 2022

Former Australian batter Chris Lynn feels that RR are not making good use of young Riyan Parag’s batting skills. He suggested that the right-hander could be used as a pinch hitter against the spinners.

Speaking ahead of RR’s clash against GT, Lynn said:

“Riyan Parag should definitely bat higher than (Ravichandran) Ashwin in my opinion. I can understand what they did the other night from the cricket point of view (sending Ashwin ahead of Parag). Maybe you can use Parag as a pinch-hitter. He is a clean striker of the ball. Might be a good match up going up the order for an over or two against spin.”

Rajasthan promoted Ashwin to No. 6 against Lucknow after losing four wickets for 67 runs. He scored a steady 28 off 23 before heading back retired out. Parag then came in and scored eight off four balls. The youngster has only faced 17 deliveries in IPL 2022 so far, scoring 25 runs.