"David Miller's star has been on the wane recently" - Aakash Chopra on the Gujarat Titans' issues heading into IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 vs MI
Aakash Chopra has picked David Miller's waning returns as one of the Gujarat Titans' (GT) issues heading into their IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 clash against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 26.
Miller has aggregated 259 runs at a decent average of 32.38 in his 13 innings in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League. However, he failed to reach the double-digit mark in his last three hits and will want to give a better account of himself in Friday's knockout game.
While previewing the match in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra named Hardik Pandya and Miller as two of the concerns in the Gujarat Titans' batting department, elaborating:
"This team has surprised me slightly in the last few games. The batting order is generally not topsy-turvy but they have done that. Vijay Shankar batted at No. 3 against Bangalore and scored 50 runs, he batted really well."
"When the next match came in Chennai, Hardik Pandya was at No. 3. The guy is not if red-hot form because he hasn't even scored 300 runs in this entire tournament. David Miller's star has been on the wane recently, that's another development that is hurting Gujarat's team."
The former Indian opener pointed out that Dasun Shanaka hasn't been among the runs either, stating:
"They tried to fit Dasun Shanaka towards the end but he played two or three good shots in the last match and then got out, and got out early in the match before that. He hasn't batted much."
Shanaka has aggregated just 26 runs in his three outings. He was promoted to No. 4 in the Gujarat Titans' Qualifier 1 clash against the Chennai Super Kings but could only manage a 16-ball 17.
"Shubman Gill is doing a little heavy lifting at the moment" - Aakash Chopra on the Gujarat Titans' batting
![Shubman Gill is just eight runs short of Faf du Plessis in the Orange Cap race. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/05/6eaeb-16850780466803-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra feels the Gujarat Titans are slightly overreliant on Shubman Gill in the batting department at the moment, elaborating:
"I feel the balance is going slightly off because you have a very good player in the form of Sai Sudharsan but you are not playing him. Shubman Gill is doing a little heavy lifting at the moment, he is carrying everyone's burden on his shoulders. This ground suits him a lot but he might also become slightly 50-50 under lights."
The cricketer-turned-commentator wants the defending champions to include Sai Sudharsan at No. 3 in their batting lineup, saying:
"I feel you should bring in Sai Sudharsan and play him at No. 3. Hardik can come at No. 4, Vijay Shankar at No. 5, David Miller at No. 6 and Rashid Khan at No. 7 - looks alright."
Chopra pointed out that the Gujarat Titans can bring in Joshua Little at Dasun Shanaka's expense in such a scenario. He added that the Ireland left-arm seamer's ability to swing the new ball makes him a better option than both Yash Dayal and Darshan Nalkande.