Wasim Jaffer, the assistant coach of Punjab Kings, doesn’t think the emerging batting sensation Shahrukh Khan should be seen only as a T20 power hitter because he has it in him to play all three formats of the game going ahead in future.
It’s a slightly surprising statement from Jaffer because Shahrukh Khan, at this stage, is not even a regular member of the Ranji Trophy side of Tamil Nadu, and he represents them only in white-ball cricket on a regular basis.
However, according to Jaffer, what happens in India is that players are stereotyped very, very quickly based on their performance in one format, but the basics of batting don’t really change for either of the three formats. It’s just that a batsman has to be a bit tighter in one format and more expressive in the other.
Jaffer revealed that during his interactions with Shahrukh Khan in the Punjab Kings camp, he told him that until he gets to his mid-30s and his fitness remains good enough where he thinks he can play even longer formats of the game, he should focus on becoming a three-format player and not just a T20 power hitter.
Jaffer thinks Shahrukh Khan can improve his technique
Talking about some of the other power hitters in the game, Jaffer said that a lot of those power hitters are also very good on a technical front. Being technically good helps the players in power hitting too as it gives them a strong base.
“He can improve technically. Even in T20, there is technique. Not like Test cricket, of course, but if you look at the big hitters, they are technically fine,” Jaffer was quoted as saying by Indian Express.
Jaffer, however, stressed on the fact that Shahrukh is a rare talent as he is an out-and-out middle-order player in comparison to some of the other young Indian players who are mostly top-order batsmen and have to be used as make-shift middle-order players based on the needs of the team.
