A big part of IPL is not judging yourself too harshly: Tim David

BENGALURU: Towering power-hitter Tim David had a watershed 2025. He began the year by clinching the Big Bash League title with the Hobart Hurricanes before moving to India to be part of RCB’s maiden IPL triumph. Then, in Australia colours, he smashed a 37-ball century against the West Indies in Basseterre, the fastest T20I hundred by an Australian.

Now in his sixth IPL season, the 30-year-old is thriving in his role as a middle-order batter and finisher for RCB. Decoding his role for the defending champions, David highlighted the importance of the top order featuring Phil Salt, Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar.

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“As a middle-overs batter, you have to solve problems. We’re lucky we have a brilliant top order. They are very consistent. Often, I’m just adding the finishing touches. With players like Jitesh (Sharma) and Romario (Shepherd), the pressure is shared,” said David. Having represented over a dozen franchises, David also spoke about managing expectations.

“As a middle-order batter in T20 cricket, you can’t come good every game. If you expect that, it becomes really difficult. My role is to get us to the best possible score. Sometimes you have to work with the bowlers when you’re batting lower down. A massive part of the IPL is not putting extra pressure on yourself or judging yourself too harshly when things don’t come off,” he said.

This season’s six-hitting charts have been dominated by young Indians. Abhishek Sharma leads with 27, followed by Patidar (22), Priyansh Arya and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (20 sizes each), while Cooper Connolly rounds out the top five with 14. “The depth of the domestic talent in India has improved. You see players coming into the IPL ready to hit sixes,” he said. On his own such abilities, David added, “Being big helps with being able to hit sixes. It also means I use heavy bats and bowlers have more areas to land their balls against me.”