Punjab Kings (PBKS) batsman Shahrukh Khan, who rescued his team from a batting debacle in an IPL 2021 encounter against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 16, said that he has the ability to adapt and skills to bat anywhere.
Invited to bat Punjab Kings were in a spot of bother as they lost half of their side for just 26 runs as CSK bowlers were seemingly at the top of their game.
Coming into bat at number six, Shahrukh Khan displayed great composure and skill and made 47 off 36 balls to help his team cross the 100 runs mark in their second match of IPL 14.
Addressing the post-match press conference after the match, Shahrukh Khan said that his role his playing down the order as a finisher but when team faces collapse his role is to take responsibility and see the team through.
“My role is playing down the order as a finisher but you don't expect to go out and blast in every game because there will be situations where the team bundles out and you need to take responsibility and see the team through,” Shahrukh said during the post-match press conference.
Khan said that though he’s branded as a finisher but he has batted at the top of the order for his domestic team and has skills to bat in tough situations to see team through. He added that he has developed his game as finisher but his core game of seeing the ball and playing normal shots is still with him.
'I'm branded as a complete finisher. I am a good batsman, I was batting up the order for Tamil Nadu for a couple of years. So, I've been batting at the top order. I've the skill in me to bat and see the team through in tough situations.
'I think I've really developed my game as a finisher in the last couple of years but still, my core game is still with me- See the ball and play normal cricketing shots,” he said.
Khan emphasised on how the likes of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle give him certain suggestions in the nets. The youngster admitted that these learnings will only improve his game and vowed to use them in the future.
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“The way they are having conversations with people around the team... Nicholas Pooran, Chris Gayle, Dawid Malan and obviously KL Rahul. The likes of so many big players when they see you in the nets, they say certain things here and there.
"It's really going to improve your batting and obviously new to IPL. A long way to go! Will take a lot of things from them, advice and put out there and use it,” said Shahrukh Khan.
Khan said that the IPL scenario is completely different from domestic games but he’s improving his game one per cent every session. He added that coaches Wasim Jaffer and Andy Flower are helping him get better and take his game to the next level.
“New to the IPL, different scenario compared to the domestic games but here I'm getting to learn a lot of things. I'm trying to improve my game one per cent every session, having a good time with Wasim Jaffer and Andy Flower. Really having a lot of conversations with them,” he said.
While talking about the wicket at Wankhede Stadium, Khan said it was on a slower side which is quite different to how it usually plays. He, however, also added that dew made batting easier in the 2nd innings.
'I think it was a bit slower. Not like the usual Wankhede, what I've seen through the years. Really stopped a lot, didn't expect to play in such a manner. But you know when the dew factor comes in it skids on to the bat really well.
Shahrukh Khan further said that if he had played last 5 balls in the end then they could’ve scored 20 runs more and it could have been a tighter game.
“Yeah, half of the team inside the dressing but still it was you know. Still wanted to hang around for some time and you know assess the pitch a bit more so that slog overs would be a bit easier for me. I think if I played that 5 balls in the end in the 20th over, we could've scored 20 runs more which would have been a tight game I guess,” he concluded.
Punjab Kings will next face Delhi Capitals (DC) in Mumbai on April 18th.
(PTI inputs)
