'Such statements only look good on TV' - Lalchand Rajput on Suryakumar Yadav's 'rebuilding phase' remark

It has been a bad start for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League, where they are still winless after five appearances. The cricket pundits and the fans have been dissecting their performances. The former cricketer Lalchand Rajput discussed the form of Rohit Sharma and heaped praises on the youngsters of MI.

In response to a question regarding Rohit getting out while playing the pull shot on three out of five occasions, Rajput recalled the story of Sachin Tendulkar. He said that Tendulkar used to get out readily by trying to play the cover drive in the first three Tests of 2003-04 series against Australia. But in the fourth Test, he changed his strategy, avoided playing the drive, and returned with a knock of 241* at the SCG. He said that Rohit needs to follow the same strategy to get runs.

“You got to curb that natural instinct, like I recall you a story of Sachin Tendulkar. In the 2003/04 series against Australia, Sachin got out while playing cover drives in the first three tests. The people were writing him off and he used to get out to Brett Lee caught behind, while playing this shot. In the fourth Test match at SCG, he scored a terrific innings of 241, and did not play a single cover drive. So he has to be mentally prepared to be playing until the 15th-16th over,” said Rajput on Sky247.net presents ‘Not Just Cricket Show’ on CricTracker.

Meanwhile, after consecutive losses, MI’s key performer Suryakumar Yadav had said that the team is in a rebuilding phase and will produce many world-class players in the next three to four years. On this, Rajput reckoned that if they are rebuilding, they should not compete in this edition of the IPL, and urged the team to think of ways to secure victory by making strategic changes or personnel changes.

“If he says the team is for future, then don’t compete this year. It means he has already succumbed to pressure. I think these statements look good on TV, but don’t augur well from the team’s perspective. At this moment, you have got to be positive and think on how to win your upcoming games, and have to think out of the box. The spin department is pretty weak, and in the pace department, there was Boult to complement Bumrah in the last season. In this season, Bumrah has pressure to get wickets in the powerplay overs,” Rajput added.

Very impressed with Tilak Varma and Dewald Brevis: Lalchand Rajput

Rajput hailed the performance of youngsters like Tilak Varma and Dewald Brevis, who have played aggressive cricket and have been key contributors for MI this year. Rajput said that thinks Brevis will soon make it to the South Africa senior national team.

“I am very much impressed with Tilak Varma, the way he bats he is looking very confident and is a future player. Another youngster, Brevis is fantastic; he emulates AB de Villiers. I want to share with you that AB coaches him as well, and that’s why he has developed a liking for him and bats like him. If you look at his shots, even if he tries to hit, he keeps his head down and never lifts it. He has got a very good hand-eye coordination as well, and he will play for South Africa one day,” Rajput added.