IPL 10: Sunrisers Hyderabad’s continued selection of Naman Ojha is puzzling

Saturday’s match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Rising Pune Supergiant was one where the bowlers and batsmen, of both teams, stood on polarising ends. The nature of the pitch helped the bowlers come up with a stinging performance.

However, while the Supergiant’s batsmen can afford to pat themselves on their backs for their resistance to Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Co, David Warner and his batting troop have nothing but questions waylaying them about the disappointing way in which the match ended for them.

And, right on top of these questions is their repeated preference of Naman Ojha as the first-choice wicketkeeper-batsman.

Naman Ojha’s puzzling knock

The Sunrisers didn’t exactly start on a slouching note in trying to get to the 149-run target, with Shikhar Dhawan getting them to a fiery start even as Warner played on relatively sedately from the other end. Even when the Sunrisers lost Dhawan and Williamson successively, Warner and Yuvraj Singh combined swiftness and maturity in their game to keep the required run-rate from soaring far too high.

But, beyond these names contributing on these expected lines, what the Sunrisers needed on the day was someone to take charge of the innings if – and when – the likes of Warner and Singh failed to see through the end of the innings. And, with Ojha coming in at No 7 as the last recognised batsman, the responsibility fell on him to ensure that the team kept their winning momentum alive.

Instead, Ojha’s miserable score of nine runs didn’t help the Sunrisers in any which way. Moreover, by taking 9 balls to make those nine runs, he made a mockery of the team’s efforts, destroying any remaining chance the Sunrisers had of winning.

Is Naman Ojha the right fit for T20s?

Ojha’s ineffectiveness can also be summarised through his partnership with Yuvraj Singh, which added 21 runs for the fifth wicket, with Ojha contributing a paltry two runs. There again, while Ojha could have redeemed himself to be the saviour of the day by sticking around and forming a partnership with Bipul Sharma for the sixth wicket, his abrupt attempt to up the ante proved doubly disastrous as he fell prey to Jaydev Unadkat in the 18th over.

In a format where scoring run-a-ball is cited as an example of slowness and where quick-thinking often helps batsmen land on their feet, Ojha’s performance was a poster advertising how unsuitable he is to the T20 game.

Statistically, in the 161 T20 matches Ojha has played, he’s scored 2,590 runs at an average of about 21 runs with a highest score of 94. In terms of the IPL, especially this year, the 33-year-old has scored only 63 runs in 11 matches, with his best knock coming against the Kings XI Punjab in the Sunrisers’ home match on April 17 which, has now been long forgotten.

With only two more matches to go in the round robin stage of the tournament, it’s about time the Sunrisers adjusted their playing XI. Having been consigned to remain in the fourth place, at least until the result of their next match – to be played against the Mumbai Indians at home on Monday – the Sunrisers can still afford to experiment by picking their backup keeper-batsman Eklavya Dwivedi over Ojha.

At worst, they could go on to lose their second straight match at home. Or at best, it could end being their most timely reshuffling of their team order, clinching them a playoff deal in the bargain.