Taylor praises Daredevils’ batting display, admits own lack of form – Cricket News Update
Speaking at the Fortis-Escort hospital, Delhi Darevdevils batsman Ross Taylor lauded the performance of his fellow batsmen, while admitting that his own performances had not been up to par lately.
“The team has batted well but yes, I am out of form,” he admitted.
Amid discussion about sport psychology, cardiac fitness, and injuries, Taylor acknowledged that he had failed to fire for his team in 7 games he has played so far. The Kiwi batsman joined the squad late, owing to injury.
Taylor sustained a broken forearm owing to a vicious delivery by his Daredevils teammate Morne Morkel, while batting during the 4th day of a Test match in Wellington between New Zealand and South Africa.
Following surgery, the 28-year-old joined the Virender Sehwag-led side and played his first game for them on April 16 - a match against the Mumbai Indians, which his team went on to win by 7 wickets.
Taylor’s contributions to his team have not been particularly substantial – the batsman, who is part of the Daredevils’ middle-order, has only scored 91 runs in the seven matches he has played so far, and his highest individual score has not risen above
25.
The other middle-order batsmen have been similarly mediocre, with wicketkeeper batsman Naman Ojha (whose highest score so far is 33 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 7) and Yogesh Nagar (with 27 being his highest individual total) having failed
to contribute any big scores.
In comparison, the top-order boasts hard-hitting batsmen such as skipper Sehwag (who has amassed a total of 445 runs in the tournament so far), and Kevin Pietersen (305). However, a change in the line-up could be on the cards for the batting order, as Pietersen
recently pulled out of the IPL 5 owing to national duties.
“It has been discussed and that's what we are here for. Middle-order will stand up when time comes,” Taylor said regarding a possible shuffle in the batting line-up after Kevin Pietersen left for England in order to participate in the home series against
the West Indies.
The Daredevils, currently at the top of the tournament points table, will be hoping to adjust to the changes in the squad and maintain their winning streak as they prepare to take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on May 7.