'He Reminds Us Of A Young Kieron Pollard': Virender Sehwag Praises Shahrukh Khan, Backs Him To Hit A T20 Ton

The IPL 2021 provided us with a glimpse of the talent the Indian youngsters possess, given that it has been a platform for the youth to propel themselves into stardom. One such youth is Shahrukh Khan, the young Tamil Nadu batsman, who had caught the eye of former India batsman Virender Sehwag.

The IPL 2021 edition was evolving into a pretty interesting season as teams moved from venue to venue and just as things were getting intriguing, COVID-19 spoiled the party for everyone and the league was suspended due to the Coronavirus outbreak in franchise bubbles.

Talking about the youngster Shahrukh Khan, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise had bought him for Rs 50 lakhs in the IPL 2021 auction and gave him a chance to unleash in the death overs and he played a couple of knocks to showcase his hitting prowess and confidence.

Virender Sehwag felt that had the IPL 2021 not being suspended mid-way, we could have seen one more century added to the list of Sanju Samson’s 119, Devdutt Padikkal’s 101* and Jos Buttler’s 124. Virender Sehwag felt that Shahrukh Khan has it in him to hit a whirlwind IPL century.

If He Can Be Given A Chance To Bat Higher, The Day He Clicks, He Could Even Hit A Century: Virender Sehwag On Shahrukh Khan  

Shahrukh exactly did not set the stage on fire, with scores of 6*, 47, 15*, 22, 13, 0, and 4, but Virender Sehwag feels it has to do with the fact that he bats lower down for PBKS. Virender Sehwag even compared Shahrukh to a young Kieron Pollard for his hitting abilities.

“He reminds us of a young Pollard, when he had just come into the IPL. Everyone was running after him, because he could just stand and hit sixes off bowlers. Shahrukh has the same quality. Although he has played those little innings and hasn’t played a big knock. But the lower you bat in the line-up, there’s only so much he can do,” Virender Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

Meanwhile, Virender Sehwag also feels that if Shahrukh is given more chances to bat higher up the order, he can surely breach the century barrier. The young Tamil Nadu batsman is yet to score a century in his professional cricket career, with 92* and 69* being his highest scores in First-Class and List-A cricket respectively.

“If he can be given a chance to bat higher, the day he clicks, he could even hit a century. He is the kind of player for whom it doesn’t matter what happened the previous ball. Many batsmen thing ‘Oh, I got beaten, this one turned’. Those who don’t think about the previous ball, they have a higher success rate,” Virender Sehwag explained.

This year, Chennai Super Kings showed tremendous resurgence, while Royal Challengers Bangalore gave them a tough fight for a place at the top of the points table.

Also Read: IPL 2021: MI-CSK Match Recorded As Most Watched Mid-Season Game In IPL History; Most Viewed Match This Season As Well