Former India player Irfan Pathan feels Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) star Nicholas Pooran could lose his place in the playing XI if he fails to do well. He has done poorly in the ongoing IPL 2026, scoring just 41 runs across four innings at a strike rate of 85.41 as well. He also added that Pooran could be dealing with either health or mindset issues.
Irfan said in his YouTube video, “100 ka bhi strike rate nahi hai (His strike rate is not even 100). He hasn’t been scoring at all. He batted at No. 3 last year but has now been moved down the order. Another thing, his foot gets planted early. That’s why he is not in form. More than technique, I feel the issue is in the head, or there is some health issue. One of these two things are bothering Nicholas Pooran. If he doesn’t sort it out quickly, he could be in trouble because Josh Inglis is a very good player, and there will be pressure on Nicholas Pooran when he joins the camp.”
Irfan Pathan stated RCB captain Rajat Patidar’s brilliant record against spinners as well. He applauded the right-handed batter as a ‘monster’ while facing spin as well.
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“Rajat Patidar is batting at a strike rate of over 200. He is also hitting three sixes in an over against spinners. If you consider yourself a gangster, then this is a monster against spinners. Rajat Patidar’s strength is that he stands firm, and the base is very good. He does not use his feet a lot and is not a player who will step out and hit. Can Digvesh Rathi invite him to play on the front foot more? Not too far ahead, but invite in such a way that he cannot hit it straight and has to go across,” he said again.
However, the match will see a high-profile matchup as Virat Kohli will go up against Mohammad Shami in the powerplay as well. Irfan said that the RCB opener can take the off-stump guard to counter his outswingers.
“Virat Kohli scored 50 runs in the last match, but was a bit upset after getting out. It means that he wants to improve even after scoring a fifty. He wants to improve the strike rate. Mohammad Shami has been in very good form and has bowled just one bad over. Shami gets late movement, but now he has started something new. He turns his wrist to bowl the outswinger. That means that he can bowl the outswinger at will. Virat Kohli will be aware of it. Can he stand on the middle and off stump to counter that swing? Mohammad Shami is likely to bowl one or two full balls to make him drive on the up,” Irfan Pathan concluded.
