The way the top three are batting, it takes pressure off us: GT middle-order batter Shahrukh

GT batter M. Shahrukh Khan says the team was fortunate to pick up Jos Buttler from the auction.
| Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR

He has faced just 39 balls in the eight games he has played. In three of those matches, he didn’t have to take the trouble of striding to the middle. M. Shahrukh Khan belongs to that protected species: the Gujarat Titans’ middle order.

Captain Shubman Gill, B. Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler have been scoring enough runs – 1,078 – for GT between them so far to ensure that their team is well poised to make it to the IPL playoffs. Shahrukh said the GT’s middle order was chilled out.

“The way the top three are batting, they are taking a lot of pressure off you,” the Tamil Nadu batter said on the eve of GT’s match against Rajasthan Royals. “You just need to understand what situation you have to go into.”

He admitted that there wasn’t much game time for the middle-order batters. “But we compensate for that with our practice,” he said. “We have a facility back home to bat for a long time and to ensure that we are ready to deliver when the situation comes.”

Shahrukh said GT was fortunate that it could pick up Buttler from the auction. “He could walk into any IPL team,” he said.

Rajasthan Royals’ pace bowling coach Shane Bond feels one has to look at the auction in terms of a three-year cycle. “When you look at the last three years, it was a great cycle for Royals,” the former New Zealand quick said. “Rajasthan made the final, made the Playoffs and was in contention all the time.”