Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody has raised questions about Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson's captaincy during their defeat against Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2024. RR on Wednesday suffered their first defeat of IPL 2024 after four wins on the bounce . Moody questioned Samson's decision to under-utilize pacer Trent Boult with the ball. For the inexperienced, Boult bowled two overs and conceded eight runs in his first spell. However, Samson decided not to complete his full quota of overs, bowling veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin at the death.
Former SRH coach Moody believes Samson's decision to underuse Boult makes no sense.
“You had to use Trent Boult at the back. He's certainly been used at the death before and he's got a huge amount of experience. So when it comes to pressure, he's used to absorbing that pressure and taking on those challenges. So I “I was really surprised that it wasn't used up today. He left the park with two overs left on the bench, which makes no sense at all. Nothing against Ashwin, he is a very good bowler. But he and Chahal went for 83″ runs in their eight overs together. For me it was a real miss with Trent Boult. Unless there is an injury or illness that we are not aware of,” said Moody on ESPNcricinfo.
During the same discussion, former Indian cricketer Deep Dasgupta also questioned Samson's decision to use Ashwin over Boult in the 17th overs.
I understand Ashwin knocking down the 15th, but the 17th? If you look at the bowling unit, Boult is the most experienced fast bowler there. Regardless of whether it's his strength or not, you're still going to bowl him at the back end. If he is on the left, you have to bowl him,” Deep Dasgupta questioned Samson's decision.
Taking to his YouTube channel, former India opener Aakash Chopra also echoed the same sentiments as Moody and Dasgupta, saying Boult should have been used in the middle overs.
“If you bowl with a dry ball, then if you have scored enough runs, you should have the bowling to defend it. The truth is that Rajasthan has the bowling. They did not play against Nandre Burger, but nevertheless they have the Keshav Maharaj made his debut and they made him bowl just two overs,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“Why did Trent Boult only bowl two overs? I didn't understand that. Two overs, eight runs, and he only bowled two overs. Why? Keshav gave 16 runs in his two overs, so in total there were only 24 runs in those four. overs. Trent Boult could have got overs in the middle but you didn't. You went towards spinners,” he added.
Despite the defeat, RR are at the top of the table after five games. They will now take on Punjab Kings on Saturday.
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