Sherfane Rutherford bats as middle-order (#4) for Gujarat Titans. Across 161 T20 matches, he's established himself as a reliable presence.

Rutherford scored 292 runs at 157.8 SR in IPL 2025. His SRae of 0.1 puts him roughly at the league average for the phases he batted in — solid but not yet a difference-maker with the bat.

Matchup Profile: Pace vs Spin

Rutherford is more comfortable against pace across the board. Captains should look to deploy spin against him when possible.

Powerplay: 112.9 SR across 101 balls | vs pace 119.6

Middle Overs: 123.0 SR across 851 balls | vs pace 136.9 | vs spin 113.6

Death Overs: 187.0 SR across 577 balls | vs pace 193.5 | vs spin 167.1 | (26.4 point gap favoring pace)

Phase-by-Phase Breakdown

Rutherford faces 51% of his deliveries in the middle overs, which tells you everything about his role in the batting order.

Middle (7-15) (51% of balls): 170.2 SR — 24.5% boundaries, 30.9% dots

Comfortably above the 144.5 league average for this phase.

Death (16-20) (47% of balls): 187.0 SR — 27.2% boundaries, 31.0% dots

Powerplay (1-6) (2% of balls): 112.9 SR — 17.9% boundaries, 51.5% dots

Well below the league average of 151.8 — this is a phase where he needs to improve or be protected.

Style and Tendencies

Rutherford scored 291 runs in 11 innings in IPL 2025 at 157.8 SR, averaging 26.5 per outing. His highest score was 46.

He's a boundary-heavy scorer — 67.4% of his runs come from fours and sixes — but he's capable of rotating strike when needed.

One concern: 75% of his dismissals are caught (6/8). That kind of pattern is something opposition analysts will look to exploit.

What This Means for IPL 2026

Rutherford is expected to continue as middle-order (#4) for Gujarat Titans. As an overseas player, he occupies one of Gujarat Titans' four precious foreign slots — so the production needs to justify that selection. His middle overs numbers are his calling card. If Gujarat Titans can build their batting order to maximize his time in that phase, he has the potential to be one of their most impactful contributors. The powerplay remains a vulnerability. Opposition captains who can engineer matchups in that phase will have an advantage. With an xImpact rating of 61.8, he's projected as a genuine difference-maker.