IPL 2024: Abhishek Porel, Jake Fraser-McGurk Receive David Warner’s Praise For ‘Impactful’ Shows
New Delhi: Australian veteran David Warner revealed that Abhishek Porel and Jake Fraser-McGurk are the two youngsters who have impressed him the most in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). While Fraser-McGurk has been hitting ball with a strike rate of above 216, Bengal stumper Porel really played a few ‘Impactful’ innings after coming as an ‘Impact Sub’. However, Delhi Capitals are currently placed eighth place in the points table with just three wins and five losses.
Having spent the first five matches on bench, the 22-year-old Australian made an impact straightaway, with a 35-ball 55 against Lucknow Super Giants. The highlight of Fraser-McGurk short IPL career was against Sunrisers Hyderabad when his 18-ball 65 kept Delhi Capitals in the game till the eighth over.
“Jake has been good. He always had the talent. Also, Abhishek has been really good. During that game against Punjab, he had an opportunity to bat as an impact player and he got like 30 something in nine balls . He is going to be a great player. On the other day against SRH, he played well,” Warner said on Delhi Capitals media day on Monday.
On the other hand, Porel scored 148 runs in seven matches at an average of 29.60 and a strike rate of 162-plus. His best score was against SRH – a 22-ball 42. Meanwhile, Warner felt the ‘Impact Sub’ rule has diminished the role of an all-rounder to some extent from T20 cricket.
“Well, the game is evolving, right. So I think people are just trying different things. If you got 15-16 people on the bench, you know you want to maximise as much as you can. Is the game going to change a lot in the next 10 years? It probably will.
“I feel like it’s taken the all round option out now. We are adapting as cricketers, so we’re enjoying that and and it’s also tactically when you’re sitting on the bench, you know, if you’re not scoring runs, then you can put that batsman in,” Warner said.
Reflecting on the team’s show so far, Warner opined that Delhi Capitals have a little bit of improvement to do. “We’re not where we want to be for the team’s sake. We’d like to win a few more games. But we’ve got to win the next remainder to obviously compete in the finals. So for us, it’s about doing as best as we can. Hopefully, we can play each game like we did against Gujarat,” he reflected.
“We’ve got a little bit of improving to do, both with bat and the ball. If we can minimise the totals, it would be great. And then if we bat first, try and put a big total on the board and defend it,” the Aussie batter added.