Shahrukh Khan, Punjab Kings (PBKS) batsman has said that he is more than just a finisher and has the ability to bat the team out of trouble when the situation demands so.
Shahrukh Khan fought a lone battle for PBKS with the bat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday. He top-scored for his team with a valiant 47 off 36 balls. The knock went in vain, though, as CSK won the low-scoring game by six wickets to register their first win in IPL 2021.
Shahrukh Khan’s Role Is Playing Down the Order As A Finisher But He Can Bat Up The Order Too
Speaking at a virtual press conference following PBKS’s emphatic defeat, a confident Shahrukh Khan said that he is a good enough batsman who can play in various match situations.
Shahrukh Khan observed in this regard: “My role is playing down the order as a finisher. But you can’t go out there and blast the ball in every game. There will be situations where the team could get bundled out. You need to take the responsibility and see the team through. I don’t think I am branded as a complete finisher. I am a good batsman. I was batting up the order for Tamil Nadu for a couple of years. I have been batting up the order throughout. I have the skill in me to bat and see the team through as well in tough situations”.
Shahrukh Khan added that while he has worked on his finishing skills in recent years, he has retained the attributes of a top-order batsman.
“I have developed my game as a finisher in the last couple of years. However, my core game is still to watch the ball, play normal cricketing shots,”said Shahrukh Khan.
The 25-year-old Shahrukh Khan was one of the star performers in Tamil Nadu’s victorious 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign. He blasted 88 runs in four innings at a strike rate of 220, scoring a best of 40 not out off 19 balls. Subsequently, he was purchased by PBKS in the IPL mini-auction for INR 5.25 crore, becoming Punjab’s biggest Indian buy-in IPL 2021.
Shahrukh Khan Learnt Lot Of Points From Big Players Like KL Rahul, Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle And Dawid Malan
Shahrukh Khan admitted that since it is his first season in the extravagant IPL, he is going to go out of his way to improve his game and learn as much as possible from the batting legends like KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and Dawid Malan in the PBKS camp.
Asked about his interaction with star players in the franchise, Shahrukh Khan said: “(Learning) A lot of points. The way they have been having conversations with people, trying to help everyone improve everyday. Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle, Dawid Malan and obviously KL (Rahul) and so many such big players… When they talk to you and when they see you in the nets and say certain things, it is really going to help your batting improve. I am obviously still new to the IPL, and there is still a long way to go. I am going to take lot of thoughts and advice from them and go out there and use it”.
Despite Shahrukh Khan’s defiant 47, PBKS only managed 106 for 8 on the board before CSK won with 26 balls and six wickets to spare. PBKS managed only 106/8 after being reduced to 26/5 at one stage in the 7th over as CSK pacer Deepak Chahar produced a dream spell of 4/13 in 4 overs and was awarded, MOM.
The likes of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle and Deepak Hooda didn’t manage to score more than 10 runs. CSK’s Faf Du Plessis scored unbeaten 36 while Moeen Ali scored 46 to see CSK winning by 6 wickets in the 16th over.
Brief Scores: Chennai Super Kings 107/4 (Moeen Ali 46, Faf du Plessis 36*; Mohammad Shami 2/21) beat Punjab Kings 106/8 (Shahrukh Khan 47, Jhye Richardson 15; Deepak Chahar 4/13) by 6 wickets