Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris is highly impressed with Punjab King's finisher Shahrukh Khan who is playing his first IPL season. Though he has only scored 103 runs in five innings, Shahrukh has made his presence felt and has come up with the runs when the rest of the team has struggled.
He has timed the ball to perfection and his ability to hit the long ball has been evident from some of his breezy knocks this season. With the sort of innings he has played so far, Shahrukh Khan has definitely given some hope to Punjab Kings as a designated finisher. Styris who hailed the hard-hitting batsman doesnt want Shahrukh to put too much pressure on himself. All he wants him to do is to enjoy his game.
“I think that’s a lot of pressure to put on his shoulders. I would want to back up that truck a little bit and say no. Just let him play and develop! People develop at different speeds as well. He might take two-three-four seasons to get to a point where he is a reliable finisher,” said Styris.
“I don’t want to compare anyone with Kieron Pollard, he’s 6 foot 5, he’s huge. Shahrukh Khan is a big guy as well. Maybe he can look to aspire to be like Hardik Pandya. I’ve seen a lot of Shahrukh Khan because of my commentary days with the Tamil Nadu Premier League and he was a powerful striker of the ball in that league,” the former New Zealand all-rounder added.
Shahrukh Khan looked in ominous touch for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and played the role of a designated finisher to perfection. He turned some matches on it’s head with delightful strokeplay and it was due to his exploits there, SRK was snapped up by the Punjab Kings for Rs 5.25 crores. So far Shahrukh has justified his position at the Punjab Kings.
“I am glad to see him go on and do the same thing for the Tamil Nadu side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and that’s how he has earned his space. Dominic Cork just talked about players developing and moving on to India. Well, that’s what these local leagues do as well, by televising them, by putting them under pressure. They then develop to get into their first-class sides and then into the IPL and then potentially into their national sides as well,” Styris said.
Styris urged Punjab Kings to let Shahrukh Khan develop organically and hon his traits from some of the illustrated cricketers around him.
“So, Shahrukh Khan, just let him play like all the uncapped players, just let them develop; learn from the big-named players around them and when that happens, you just don’t know what can come from that,” Styris concluded.