Jaipur, May 11:
Former New Zealand pacer Shane Bond believes bowlers must evolve and innovate to keep pace with increasingly “ultra-aggressive” batting in T20 cricket, saying those who successfully expand their skillsets can potentially become “superstars” in the format.
Rajasthan Royals’ struggles with the ball this season continued on Saturday as they conceded 229 against Gujarat Titans in a crushing 77-run defeat. It marked the seventh time in 11 matches that the Royals have allowed opponents to cross the 200-run mark.
Bond, the Royals’ bowling coach, admitted his side has failed to adapt well enough to familiar conditions.
“We just haven’t played well enough in conditions that we know. We’ve been outplayed by our opposition. I look at bowlers, they just have to be better, right? You’ve got to think a bit outside the box,” Bond said at the post-match press conference. “There’s two things: decision-making and execution. I think tonight, you would have probably noticed that execution just wasn’t consistent enough for long enough. And I think if you look across the board in the IPL, that’s just been the case.”