Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag is not happy with how Sri Lanka’s T20 captain Dasun Shanaka has fared in his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut season so far for Gujarat Titans (GT). Shanaka who went unsold in the auction was roped in midway through the season as injury replacement but in three innings, he has managed to score just 26 runs. Sehwag has suggested his replacement in GT’s playing XI for IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 against Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 26.
“I’m not worried about the bowling too much. Coming to the batting, I am worried about Dasun Shanaka. Gujarat can play Odean Smith and Alzarri Joseph in place of him. Shanaka’s form has been disappointing. We had huge expectations from him and he hasn’t lived up to even 1% of them. The Titans should play (Abhinav) Manohor instead of Shanaka, as he is a batter who can smash sixes,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz ahead of the mega clash.
Shanaka’s debut IPL season so far
Shanaka made his IPL debut against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and remained not out for nine runs from seven balls while opener Shubman Gill inflicted damage from the other end. In his second appearance, he got out for a three-ball duck to Harshal Patel. In IPL Qualifier 1, the all-rounder took too much time to settle. He targetted Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner Maheesh Theekshana by hitting him for a six and a four. But, he played a rash shot off Ravindra Jadeja and got caught inside the 30-yard circle. He is yet to bowl a single over for Hardik Pandya-led defending champions.
When Shanaka impressed Gambhir
Shanaka had a base price of Rs 50 lakh. However, no franchise showed any interest in him in the auction. When Sri Lanka toured India for the limited-overs series, Shanaka impressed with exquisite big-hitting. Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) mentor Gautam Gambhir even went on to say “I won’t have money, he would be that expensive, the way he has batted. That is what the auction is all about”.
“Imagine if this series had happened just before the auction, some of the franchises would probably not have had the money to buy him,” Gambhir added.
Who can replace Shanaka in playing XI?
West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith who was picked for his base price of Rs 50 lakh in the auction is yet to make his debut for GT. Smith is handy with the bat down the order and can contributed with the ball as well.
On the other hand, uncapped batter Manohar has not had much success in the season scoring 114 runs from six innings. However, his highest score of the season came against Rohit Sharma’s MI. Manohar scored a 21-ball 42 in a winning cause to help GT post 207/6 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
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