Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag is not one to mince his words, and the veteran has advised Hardik Pandya to make a key change to his side by benching one of the the players who has ‘failed to live up to expecations’ since joining the franchise. GT are set to lock horns with Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 26 for a place in the final against MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings.
Pandya side were defeated by CSK in Qualifier 1 in Chennai and thus they get a second bite at the cherry to reach the final but first, they must find a way past Rohit Sharma-led MI who come into this fixture on the back of a massive 81-run win over Lucknow Super Giants.
It will be a crucial third meeting this season between GT and MI with a place in the final up for grabs, Sehwag demanded that Pandya must bench Dasun Shanaka who has been disappointing so far in IPL 2023 season.
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The former Indian opener suggested that GT’s bowling lineup is pretty much set but Shanaka’s form has been anything but promising and he suggested that the likes of Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph and even Abhinav Manohar deserve a chance ahead of the Sri Lankan captain.
“I’m not worried about the bowling too much. But I am worried about Dasun Shanaka, GT can play Odean Smith and Alzarri Joseph for him. Shanaka has been disappointing,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
“We had big hopes from him and he hasn’t lived up to even 1 percent to those expectations. GT should play Manohor instead of Shanaka, as he is a batter who can smash sixes,” he added.
Having managed to score just 26 runs in three matches, it remains to be seen whether Shanaka will get another chance to impress against MI, or he could be benched for Qualifier 2.
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