Former West Indies skipper Brian Lara feels Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman Shubman Gill is just a match away from regaining his form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.
The West Indies batting legend also explained why KKR wouldn’t consider replacing Gill in the matches ahead. “This guy (Shubman Gill), he is a bit unlucky, if you look at him bat, he is in some form, alright. And I believe he’s just a match away from a big score,” Lara said on Star Sports show GAME PLAN.
“I think he gels really well with Iyer (Venkatesh) and I believe that both of them can come together and make something special, but replacing Shubman Gill now is not something that KKR wants to do,” he added.Meanwhile, Punjab Kings have 8 points from eleven games and the KL Rahul-led side will have to win all their three matches to be in contention for a place in the playoffs.
Lara also explained how Punjab Kings have a chance of making it into the top four. “Yeah I think so, they have the capability. They are not playing great cricket at the moment. Their batting has just always been their strength and that has come up very short,” said Lara.
“Nicholas Pooran, and Chris Gayle got out on a couple of opportunities even their captain as well KL Rahul and they miss Mayank Agarwal. So for me, their batting is the one thing that they depended on in the past.”
“They post big totals and try to defend it and if they don’t post big totals, they find it very difficult with the bowling attack that they have. Ravi Bishnoi is performing well and Mohammed Shami as you know is a professional and they expect that from him. Their batting has to be clicking and if they do click they give themselves that slight chance, it doesn’t mean that they can pull it off but they give themselves a better chance than they have been giving themselves in recent matches,” Lara explained.
Punjab Kings and KKR will lock horns with each other on Friday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.