Ashish Nehra’s trust in Shahrukh Khan nearly paid off on Wednesday in the GT vs RR clash at Ahmedabad. Gujarat Titans took the brave call to replace Washington Sundar with Shahrukh Khan, and the latter chipped in with a fine cameo to put his side in command at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Horses for courses from GT?
Washington Sundar, playing his first game, scored a match-winning 49 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, GT opted to bench the all-rounder in favour of Shahrukh Khan for their home game against Rajasthan Royals.
SRK impressed with his cameos for GT last season, and the franchise retained him ahead of IPL 2025. Now, the 2022 champions promoted him to No.4 on Wednesday to partner fellow Tamil Nadu teammate Sai Sudharsan.
The tactic paid dividends, with Shahrukh stitching 62-run partnership in the middle overs. While Sudharsan played the anchor role, Khan took the attack to the opposition scoring at a brisk rate. He doled out punishment to Maheesh Theekshana in particular, hitting the Sri Lanka spinner for 14 in 3 balls in the 14th over. He eventually managed 36 off just 20 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes.
Role change for SRK?
Shahrukh Khan has often been profiled as a finisher in his IPL career, with franchises paying in excess during auctions to get him on board. Punjab Kings spent a combined 14.25 crore to get his services, before he moved to Gujarat for Rs7.40 crore. He was eventually retained for Rs 6 crore ahead of IPL 2025.
However, after a season as a death overs hitter, Ashish Nehra has pushed him up the order. The Titans boast of Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan as death overs batters, giving SRK the time to settle in and make an impact. Whether he can make up for his good start, will be key to Gujarat’s campaign.
