Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody has raised concerns over Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson’s captaincy decisions during their defeat to Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2024. RR suffered their first loss of the season on Wednesday after four consecutive wins.
Moody questioned Samson’s decision to underutilize pacer Trent Boult, who bowled only two overs and conceded eight runs in his first spell. However, Samson opted to bowl veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin at the death instead of completing Boult’s quota of overs.
“You had to use Trent Boult at the back end. 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 was really surprised that he wasn’t spent today. He left the park with two overs left in the bank, which doesn’t make any sense whatsoever,” Moody said on ESPNcricinfo.
Former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta also echoed Moody’s sentiments, questioning Samson’s decision to use Ashwin over Boult in the 17th over. “I can understand Ashwin bowling the 15th over, but the 17th? If you look at the bowling unit, Boult is the most experienced fast bowler there. Irrespective of whether it’s his strength or not, you’re still going to bowl him at the back-end. If he’s got overs left, you’ve got to bowl him,” Dasgupta said.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra also criticized Samson’s decision, stating that Boult should have been utilized in the middle overs. “If you are bowling with a dry ball, then if you have scored enough runs, you should have the bowling to defend it. The truth is that Rajasthan have the bowling. They didn’t play Nandre Burger, but despite that, they have the bowling. Keshav Maharaj made his debut, and they got him to bowl only two overs,” Chopra said.
“Why did Trent Boult bowl only two overs? I didn’t understand that. Two overs, eight runs, and he bowled only two overs. Why? Keshav gave 16 runs in his two overs, so totally only 24 runs went in those four overs. Trent Boult could have been given overs in the middle, but you didn’t do that. You went towards spinners,” he added.
Despite the defeat, RR remain atop the table after five games. They will next face Punjab Kings on Saturday.
