RR vs MI Live Update: Ben Cutting and Daniel Vettori shared their thoughts on Ravichandran Ashwin’s batting position before the Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2022 match against the Mumbai Indians on Saturday (30 April). Cutting, who has previously played for both of the aforementioned clubs, argues that the Royals should only use specialized batsmen at the No. 3 spot in their lineup.
In the previous few games, Rajasthan Royals have taken a risk by moving Ashwin up the order. He batted at No. 3 against both the Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, except for brief spurts, it has not yielded any substantial dividends.
According to Cutting, who spoke with ESPN Cricinfo, Rajasthan’s finest batsmen should be subjected to the maximum number of deliveries possible
“No, I’ll be returning to my usual batting line-up. I am aware that he has performed well in that position in the past. But I would want him to return to the lower ranks. Allow your best batters to face the greatest number of balls,” Ben Cutting said.
Vettori, just like Cutting feels that the Rajasthan Royals have a plethora of choices to fill the position and hopes that the selection is based on some kind of rationale. He made the following statement:
“It all depends on the logic behind why they placed him in that position in the first place. In terms of their batting order, I don’t believe they need to shorten it since they have such high-caliber hitters on the roster already. They brought in Daryl Mitchell, who was capable of filling the job. Hetmyer is capable of playing that role. Sanju Samson is capable of playing that role as well. Consequently, as I previously said, it is contingent on the reasoning. But I hope it has nothing to do with the length of their batting order.”
Ashwin moved to by the Rajasthan Royals in the mega auction for a sum of Rs. 5 crores. He made history by being the first batter in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to be retired out. This was achieved against the Lucknow Super Giants on April 10 after scoring 28 runs in a three-run victory for his team against their opponents.
RR vs MI Live Update: I believe the Royals are still in the process of finding the proper balance: Daniel Vettori
Vettori went on to say that even though the Royals are still searching for their best XI, they are winning games frequently. The 43-year-old praised his team’s performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 26, in which they protected 144 runs easily. They were able to dismiss Bangalore for just 115.
Vettori had the following to say about RR’s bowling in the match against RCB:
“I believe the Royals are still attempting to strike the appropriate mix between their number seven batsman and their fifth bowler at this point in the season. But they did win, and they did it in a very fine game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Their bowlers rose to the occasion and successfully defended a total. Their batsmen who didn’t put together a good effort, namely Jos Buttler, which has been a rarity this season, will be able to bounce back on a new surface with relative ease.”
Sanju Samson and his teammates are heavy favorites to win the match against the five-time champs. Jos Buttler’s century gave them a one-wicket victory against the Mumbai Indians earlier this season.
