Aakash Chopra feels that Gujarat Titans (GT) might want to give more time to Sherfane Rutherford by promoting him ahead of Jos Buttler at No. 3 in the game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Thursday, May 22, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Gujarat’s top three batters – Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler have scored the bulk of the runs for them in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Sudharsan holds the Orange Cap, with 617 runs from 12 innings. Meanwhile, Shubman is right behind him, having amassed 601 runs from as many outings. Buttler, on the other hand, has scored 500 runs from 11 innings. However, the England wicketkeeper-batter will not be available for the playoffs as he will be off for national duty.
Rutherford, who has been batting at No. 4 this season, could come out to bat at one down in the playoffs in Buttler’s absence. Chopra pointed out the importance of the last two games for the Titans, but opined that giving Rutherford an opportunity to bat at No. 3 against LSG could serve the former champions better in the long run.
“Their fight is for the top two. They have two games left. If they win both games, they can confirm their No. 1 spot. They will reach 22 points. Even if Bengaluru and Punjab win their remaining games, they can reach 21 only, because they are on odd points. So this team will look at it from that point of view,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“A little more focus will again be on the top three because they have scored the most runs for this team. The No. 3 didn’t get a chance in the last match. You might see Jos Butter here. Another thought process could be to give more game time to Sherfane Rutherford because, come the playoffs, you will need Sherfane Rutherford more,” he added.
Gujarat have already qualified for the playoffs and are sitting pretty at the top of the table with 18 points from 12 games.
Scales are massively tilted towards Gujarat: Aakash Chopra
Chopra questioned whether Gujarat should have Gerald Coetzee in the lineup against LSG instead of Kagiso Rabada. The cricketer-turned-commentator said that the Shubman-led side are the overwhelming favourites to win on Thursday.
“Kagiso Rabada will also not be there. So, do you want to play Gerald Coetzee in this game? These things will definitely be in their minds. Of course, the scales are massively tilted towards Gujarat. They are playing at home. They are the much, much better team,” he said in the same video.
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Chopra praised Shubman’s leadership skills and reckoned that the hosts will not make too many changes to their tactics against LSG.
“Shubman Gill’s captaincy has been excellent thus far. In bowling, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and Sai Kishore – everybody has played their part. I don’t see them changing their tactics or their performance at all. They are not going to drop their guard,” Chopra observed.
