IPL 2022: Saba Karim Hails Gujarat Titans' Success To Their Use Of Five Specialist Bowlers In IPL 2022

Former Indian wicketkeeper Saba Karim attributes Gujarat Titans’ (GT) success in IPL 2022 to the team’s use of five specialist bowlers.

The Titans began the tourney with four frontline bowlers, with Hardik Pandya serving as their fifth. They preferred to play five specialized bowlers after their skipper suffered a minor injury and got halfway through the tournament.

During a conversation on India News about the contributing factors to the Gujarat Titans’ success, Saba praised Ashish Nehra and the franchise for taking a bowling-heavy strategy. He stated:

“If your team’s coach is a pace bowler, he will try to field five specialist bowlers in his XI, as Ashish Nehra and Gujarat Titans have done in the past.”

Saba Karim admitted that the strategy managed to make their batting appear a little narrow, the former Indian cricketer responded by pointing out that the bowlers made up for it. Saba elaborated:

“As a result, we felt their batting was becoming relatively weaker, but their bowlers recompensed. Every game, whether the final and the one before it, featured five specialist bowlers, and if Hardik Pandya is fit and bowling four overs, you have a variety of choices.”

‘All three players who’d been retained appeared to be match-winners: Saba Karim

Saba Karim was also questioned if the Titans’ three draught picks – Hardik, Rashid Khan, and Shubman Gill – supposed to perform excellently was a big reason for its success. He answered:

“Correct. Teams with retained players performed well; their three or four players were constant, although they were match-winners. Gujarat Titans’ three retained players all won games.”

The Titans were led by Hardik (487 runs) and Gill (483 runs). While Rashid Khan took 19 wickets and was extremely economical, the GT captain also picked up crucial wickets with the ball, particularly in the final.

Also Read: England Name Playing XI For Lord’s Test Against New Zealand; James Anderon, Stuart Broad Return