‘I like his fearlessness' - Ravi Shastri says IPL 2022 star not too far from India call-up
Over the years, the Indian Premier League has brought young and promising cricketers into prominence and has played a key role in shaping their careers. The 2022 edition has been no different, with the two added teams ensuring even more talent on display.
As young guns continue to make an instant mark with their eye-catching performances, there have been some seasoned uncapped stalwarts plying their trade too, who, somehow don’t get the much deserved accolades. One such player has been the 31-year-old Rahul Tripathi, who has led the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s batting with great flair and distinction in IPL 2022.
On Tuesday, Tripathi showcased exemplary ball-striking and a sense of responsibility in his side’s must-win game against the Mumbai Indians, smashing 76 off 44 to power them to 193/6, a total which was enough to secure a three-run win. That took his season tally to 393 runs from 13 outings, with an unimpressive strike-rate of 161.73.
Has he made a firm statement already to earn an India call-up? Former head coach Ravi Shastri certainly thinks so.
"No question about that," Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo's show, T20 Time:Out. "It's not that one swallow that makes a summer, he's been around for a bit and what I like about his game is his fearlessness, and he's got a tag of being a known quantity and someone the opposition wants to get out quickly. Irrespective of that, he comes out and plays his game and his shot-making ability, the all-round game that he has, he's not overawed by any opposition or by any bowler, which is great to see."
Tripathi had made an instant mark in his first IPL season back in 2017, aggregating 391 runs from 14 innings in Rising Pune Supergiant’s run to the final. After three underwhelming seasons, he delivered for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2021 with 397 runs at 28.36, and has betterd that run this year.
Rahul Tripathi continues to make an impact in #IPL2022 as he scored 76 runs at 10.4 RPO. He started well and maintained the tempo through his innings.
— Stat Doctor🩺 (@stat_doctor) May 18, 2022
Despite bagging two ducks, Tripathi is the leading run-scorer for SRH this season. 😲#MIvSRH pic.twitter.com/bPrJccLkiu
The major features of Tripathi’s innings on Tuesday were his shot selection, the sense of timing and controlling the flow to perfection. A major highlight was his authoritative pull for a six off Jasprit Bumrah, which was followed by two consecutive fours. A straight smash of Daniel Sams with a free-flowing bat swing later in the eve was a sight to behold.
Shastri couldn’t be more impressed with the knock.
"Tripathi is a very, very confident player," he remarked. "What I liked best was his shot selection, the positions he got in, the anticipation, the reading of the bowler and the lengths he is going to bowl, and then getting into positions to attack a part of the field he wanted to. He gave himself in those positions a couple of options. If the ball was up, he had a couple of shots ready once he got into that position; if the bowler altered, he had plan B in place as well. So extremely impressive and a terrific innings."
SRH will face Punjab Kings in a must-win last league encounter on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium. They’ll also rely on other results to go their way for a playoffs qualification.