Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar is hopeful of a good batting display from senior batsmen Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
The current captain and his predecessor will be playing the T20 World Cup for probably the last time in their careers and will be desperate to retire on a high. Rohit has been playing in the T20 World Cup since the first edition in 2007, while Kohli has been playing it since the 2012 edition. Kohli is yet to lay his hands on the coveted T20 World Cup title, while Rohit has not done so since MS Dhoni led the team to victory in 2007.
The senior players will be under immense pressure to lead India to glory this year and Sanjay Manjrekar is confident that they will put up a better performance than what they did in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022. Both Kohli and Rohit had a disappointing outing in the semi-final when England thrashed the Men in Blue by 10 wickets.
While Kohli scored 50, he did so in 40 balls. On the other hand, Rohit scored 28 runs off 27 balls as India finished at 168 for 6. In response, England mocked the target and chased it down in 16 overs without losing a wicket.
Sanjay Manjrekar also claimed that outside noise has made Kohli a better T20 player. The former India captain has faced criticism from various quarters for his strike rate in T20s and recently put up a better display in IPL 2024.
“Rohit and Virat will not make the same mistakes made in those semi-finals (2022 vs England). It is worth recognizing that Virat is not the same T20 player he was two years ago. He must know deep down, surely, that the ‘outside noise’ ‘ ‘ has actually made him a better T20 batsman today than he was two years ago,” Sanjay Manjrekar wrote in his column for the Hindustan Times.
Sanjay Manjrekar prefers Varun Chakravarthy:
Sanjay Manjrekar further wrote that he would have preferred Varun Chakravarthy over Axar Patel for the T20 World Cup. The former cricketer claimed that Axar is “almost a replica of Ravindra Jadeja” and that the selectors should have chosen Chakravarthy.
“Personally, I would have preferred a Varun Chakravarthy in the team over an Axar Patel, who is almost a replica of Ravindra Jadeja in T20s. Once again, this selection shows India’s cautious approach towards ICC selections.
“Axar’s batting has a lot to do with his inclusion. He would have strengthened my spin attack, considering the seam attack is a bit thin with Mohammed Shami absent,” Manjrekar wrote.