Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-Ul-Haq is mighty impressed with India’s current bench strength, saying they have done a better job than Australian cricket from the 90s and 2000s when it comes to assembling a large pool of talented cricketers.
The Virat Kohli-led side will play the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton from June 18-22 followed by a five-match Test series versus England in Nottingham, London, Leeds and Manchester between August 4 and September 14.
With star players being away in England, India’s second-string squad will travel to Sri Lanka for three ODIs and as many T20Is in July.
The vast group of young and experienced Indian players has left Inzamam in awe.
"This idea of assembling a second Indian team is very interesting What India are trying to do today, Australia did this years ago, but they were not able to be successful in it. But the scenario today is such that India appear to be pulling it off. For the first time I think it is happening that a national cricket team will be playing two different series. One side in one country and the other side in some other country, and both are national teams," Inzamam said in a video uploaded on his YouTube channel.
"When Australia were at their peak. From 1995 to say 2005-2010, they had tried to distinguish two international teams named Australia A and Australia B, but they didn't get the permission. India are doing what even Australia couldn't do in their peak. And the move makes sense given the isolation protocols and everything, and it couldn't have been possible to send the same team to both countries in such a gap," he added.
The white-ball series against Sri Lanka will allow the Indian selectors to carry out experiments, like whether it will be Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar or Rahul Tewatia for the leg-break bowler’s slot and if Chetan Sakariya can be tried as left-arm option.
It could also open up the doors for Devdutt Padikkal, Prithvi Shaw, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan to stake their claims in the limited-overs side.
According to Inzamam, India's second-string squad appears as strong as the one that will be in England and he credited the domestic structure and the Indian Premier League for it.
"India at this time have so much strength that they are capable of doing this. Their pool of players is so huge that they are able to manage this. If you look at the players who would be travelling to Sri Lanka, it would appear as if this is India's main team, such is their bench strength," the ex-Pakistan captain said.
"India have improved their First-Class structure and then there is the IPL as well that has helped assemble two different teams at the same time. It's almost as if India have prepared 50 guys who are ready to play for the national team," he further remarked.
(Inputs from Hindustan Times)
