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Former Indian opener Abhinav Mukund has questioned Gujarat Titans (GT) team management for putting too much trust in Rahul Tewatia and Shahrukh Khan. After GT’s 99-run loss to Mumbai Indians (MI) which exposed the middle order, Mukund said that GT are wasting away their Indian talent on the bench.
"I'm pretty surprised that they've trusted Shahrukh Khan this much and Rahul Tewatia, because they believe that they've invested so much in them and this is a role that they can fulfil for them in the back-end if required," Mukund said on ESPNCricinfo’s Timed Out show.
Mukund, who has represented Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), wants Nishant Sindhu and Kumar Kushagra in the lineup to bolster the middle order. He pointed out that while skipper Ishan Kishan was credited for Jharkhand’s maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) triumph, Kushagra played a crucial role too. He sees the 21-year-old as the no.4 batter GT are looking for.
"I've always maintained that they've got some of the best young Indian players sitting on the bench. And that's Nishant Sindhu, who played a year in CSK [Chennai Super Kings], hasn't got a game for GT. Regularly part of the India A set-up,” Mukund said.
"Kumar Kushagra's just won the Syed Mushtaq Ali [Trophy] with Jharkhand. Ishan [Kishan] is getting all of the praise, [but] there was another guy who was also getting a lot of runs for Jharkhand [422 in ten innings to Kishan's 517 in ten]. And so he's just got one game [against Rajasthan Royals] out of position at the top of the order when he bats at four for Jharkhand.
"So there is a straight No. 4 fix available if you need it in Kushagra, except there's inexperience," he concluded.
Kushangra, Sindhu’s numbers in SMAT 2025
Kushagra was third-highest run-scorer in SMAT 2025. From 10 innings, he scored 422 runs at an average of 60.28 and strike rate of 161.68. He scored four half-centuries in the season.
On the other hand, Sindhu was Haryana's second-highest run-scorer in the domestic T20 league. He scored 303 runs from 10 innings at an average of 33.66 and strike rate of 166.48. He crossed the fifty-run mark twice in the season.
GT go up against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their next game on April 24. It is yet to be seen whether GT back Shahrukh and Tewatia or make changes to the middle order.
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