IPL 2024: Samson’s usage of Parag at number four makes him standout captain this year, says Morgan

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New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) With Riyan Parag continuing his fine run at number four for Rajasthan Royals with a scintillating 48-ball 76 against the Gujarat Titans, Eoin Morgan, England’s 2019 ODI World Cup winning captain, feels his usage in that role by skipper Sanju Samson makes him a standout captain in IPL 2024 so far.

Parag has been incredible with his ball-striking and jaw-dropping shots, something which he showcased in Wednesday’s match while hitting three fours and five sixes in his splendid knock being his third fifty of the season coming at a strike-rate of 158.33.

He also shared a 130-run partnership with Samson, who remained not out on 38-ball 68. Parag’s latest exploits take his IPL 2024 runs tally to 251 runs in five matches, which is already his best season with the bat in the tournament.

"You have captains who are at different phases of their captaincy career. If you look at Hardik (Pandya), he had success in a very short span of time with GT (Gujarat Titans). Now he is with Mumbai and is starting to turn things around. You can't put a price on winning, as a captain that is what you are judged on.”

“Probably the standout this year so far (as a captain) has been Sanju Samson. I say that simply because of one key factor - his use of Riyan Parag. Not just promoting him up the order, but being outspoken about how he has been wanting him to bat at number four and continue to bat in that role.”

“One of the hardest things to do as captain is to instill confidence and belief in a player to make them better players. Certainly I believe Sanju has done with Riyan, who’s young in age and has taken a little bit longer time to grow into his own role. But a lot of it coming good is certainly down to Sanju and the leadership team at Royals," said Morgan, an IPL expert, in a virtual interaction organised by digital broadcasters JioCinema, before Wednesday’s match began.

On Thursday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru take on Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, in a bid to resurrect their campaign. Barring leading run-getter Virat Kohli, none of the batters have fired in the tournament consistently for RCB.

Skipper Faf du Plessis has made only 109 runs, Glenn Maxwell has amassed just 32 runs, while Cameron Green has scored 68 runs in five innings. Though Morgan admitted the situation is such that the overseas batters have to come good, he expressed confidence in them finding their run-making groove soon.

“I think the team that they have, particularly when you look at the overseas players, they are premium overseas players. So, they will come good at some stage, but it’s also getting to a stage where it needs to happen soon, rather than later. Cameron Green has been good previously, Glenn Maxwell is world-class and we all know how he’s like.”

“With captain Faf du Plessis, we all know what he’s been capable of over the years. They just need to harness that confidence from somewhere, work it together as a batting unit, not just Virat by himself. In trying to win the game for the team, they have heavily stacked up the corner in favour of their batting unit and that’s understandable.”

“When you build up a team like that, they have to make peace with having a little bit of inexperience in their bowling line-up and potentially scoring a bit more over par than what they would do on normal days. So I would try to get more out of their overseas senior players.”

Kohli has amassed 316 runs in five matches, including an unbeaten 113 and two fifties. But he has come under criticism for his strike-rate in the tournament, which is currently at 146.29, and is something which left Morgan amused.

“It’s very difficult to point finger at a guy who is the holder of the orange cap currently, while the rest of the batting line is not scoring any runs. So, I don’t see a point in that. RCB are struggling with the bowling and the rest of the batting unit. So, why would I place blame on a guy who is scoring the majority of the runs.”

Friday will see bottom-placed Delhi Capitals try to get their campaign back on track when they face Lucknow Super Giants at BRSABV Ekana Stadium. In Sunday’s game, they didn’t promote big-hitting Tristan Stubbs to three in a steep chase of 235.

Though he made an astonishing 25-ball 71, Stubbs never got the strike in the last over as three wickets fell, especially with Lalit Yadav taking a brace on the first ball. Morgan signed off by saying DC need to see how Stubbs can be used better to maximise his power-hitting skills.

“Yes, Delhi Capitals have struggled so far. For me, Tristan Stubbs is a fine player and we have seen that level of consistency from him go up a notch. Where he bats should preferably would be anywhere between four to six, regardless of the runs that you are chasing.”

“I do believe that losing wickets in the final over stunted him from getting back on strike, with the new rule of the fresh batter facing the next delivery. So, usage of Stubbs is something they will look at (in coming games).”

--IANS

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