Gujarat Lions missed the services of Dwayne Bravo big time, says Mohammad Kaif

The Gujarat Lions after making an impressive IPL debut where they qualified for the playoffs in 2016 have been knocked out of the race for qualification this time. They still have three games in hand but assistant coach Mohammad Kaif claimed that Dwayne Bravo was a major miss for the Rajkot-based team and it affected their plans and thus the outcome.

Even though he was a part of the squad but he couldn’t recover in time to be a part of the XI after undergoing a hamstring surgery. He was recuperating from a hamstring injury sustained while playing in the Big Bash League where he represented Melbourne Renegades last December.

Gujarat Lions’ points tally does not represent how competitive they were in this edition of the IPL. They were repetitive victims of brilliant individual performances from the opposition be it, Ben Stokes, Jasprit Bumrah or Rishabh Pant. Having said that, the Lions also lost momentum during the crunch situations of the game.

Kaif cited out that hectic schedule of the IPL takes a toll on athlete’s body and thereby key players are not regulars in the playing XI. Along with Dwayne Bravo, Andrew Tye and Brendon McCullum also had to miss out of the action due to injuries.

“This is something you can’t really help much. In a tournament like IPL, the players come here to give their best shot and you all know travelling and practising can take a toll on your body. Senior players like McCullum and Bravo not playing regularly is a big loss to the side” said Kaif according to Indian Express.

“If you ask me, I also played for India, you know your body best. How you are feeling and how much rest you want to give yourself and things like that. But when it comes to match you want to give your best shot. Sometimes, you have niggles around, because you cannot be fully fit 100 percent all the time with travelling and close matches. So, you always have niggles and physio and trainers can help you,” he further added.

The former Indian cricketer commended the efforts of Rishab Pant and said there’s nothing a team can to after a performance like that.

“You cannot write off Rishab Pant’s knock on that day. We had no answers and it is tough to lose a game like this. Coaches tell them to let’s move on to next matches. Actually, you have very less time to sit down and talk about the areas to improve and the mistakes you have done. There is not much time to actually sit down and work on those areas. To work on those areas, you need to have time,” he said.

He was disappointed as the team could not qualify for the playoffs this time around and said,“We haven’t had a great season comparing to our performance last year. Bravo was a big miss this time, he is an all-rounder and all-rounders like him always help the team. He is proven match winner, he can bat, he can bowl, he can field. His absence has hurt us badly. concluded Kaif.