Former India cricketers Irfan Pathan and Sanjay Manjrekar got into a debate about what kind of squad India should go with in the T20 World Cup 2024. Discussion also covered the subject of the future of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in T20I cricket.
India kicked off their T20 WC 2024 preparations with a 4-1 T20I series win over Australia at home. They will have six more T20I matches, 3 in South Africa and 3 at home against Afghanistan, to prepare and finalize the squad, apart from the IPL 2024.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli asked for a break from white-ball cricket following the draining ICC World Cup 2023 and will not travel to South Africa for the T20Is and ODIs but will play in the two Tests.
Sanjay Manjrekar said that while he understood that India is desperate to end their ICC trophy drought, he feels the return of Rohit and Kohli to T20I cricket should depend entirely on their form in the format.
While Kohli will have to show himself against the likes of the young batters selected for the Australia series, Rohit will compete with Hardik Pandya for captaincy.
"We are maybe playing slightly different cricket in the final stages of World Cups. When something goes out of your hand, simplify it. Pick your team based on form close to the World Cup," said Manjrekar. "Virat Kohli will have to show that he is a better option than the youngsters who are playing currently, and Rohit Sharma as T20 batter and captain vs Hardik Pandya, the T20 batter, all-rounder, and captain," Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
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However, Irfan Pathan, who was part of the show as well, countered by saying that a team should have a blend of youth and experience. He then cited the example of the 2007 T20 World Cup team under MS Dhoni and broke the long-standing myth that it was an inexperienced Indian side that lifted the trophy.
Pathan pointed out that while there were youngsters like Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, and Robin Uthappa in the team, there were experienced campaigners like Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh as well, to guide the youngsters.
“I feel the Indian team should combine experience and youth. When we won the last T20 World Cup, in 2007, many said it was a young and inexperienced team that won the title, but that wasn't it. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had been playing for a while then. Me and Dhoni were also part of the team for almost four years. There was also Ajit Agarkar, Yuvraj Singh, and Harbhajan Singh as well. So you have to combine experience with youth, especially for those conditions where batting gets a bit tricky,” he said.
Manjrekar had the last word by reminding that an unheralded Joginder Sharma had won the T20 World Cup in 2007 for India, by bowling an amazing final over against Pakistan.
“I agree with experience but if you remember that T20 World Cup win, it was Joginder Sharma who won that final for us,” he said.
(Hindustan Times inputs)
