Former Indian national cricket team batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has criticized the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee for including icons Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the 15-man squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
The next T20 World Cup will begin in June and it will probably be the last time the duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will appear together in a T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma has featured in every T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition in 2007, while Kohli is the leading run-getter in the history of T20 World Cups.
In 27 matches, Virat Kohli has scored 1141 runs at an incredible average of 81.50 and a decent strike rate of 131.30. Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, has scored 963 in 39 matches with an average of 34.39 and a strike rate of 127.88.
Notably, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been out of India’s T20I setup since Team India’s exit in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 and recently returned to the T20I setup in January against Afghanistan.
When they returned, Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy of the team from Hardik Pandya and the presence of Virat Kohli meant that the youngsters were forced to leave the team. The biggest blow with the return of the seniors was faced by Rinku Singh, who did an exceptional job in the youth ranks for the Indian team in the opportunities he got, as he was not selected in the main team, but was kept in by the selectors. Bookings. .
Speaking on the World Cup edition of Star Sports’ newsroom, Sanjay Manjrekar said he would not have picked Kohli and Rohit in the Indian team as youth selection would have been ideal.
He opined that the selection of Rohit and Kohli has forced the team management to open with the duo as it will be the best for both the seniors and the team.
“Ideally, I wouldn’t have gone that route; I would have stuck with a core group of slightly younger players, but the selectors have committed to the icons, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports. Press room edition of the World Cup on Friday, quoted by PTI.
“Now that they are in the team, it is impossible to have Virat Kohli batting at number 3 because then you don’t get the full rally from Virat. Rohit Sharma has to open, so now, in a way, India have forced themselves to herself to do it. We only have one type of combination: two right-handers,” he said.
Sanjay Manjrekar further said that youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal will miss the XI with Rohit and Kohli opening for the team.
“Unfortunately, Jaiswal will have to sit out. I would have gone for a completely new batch (and) then he would have been much more stylish and would be something different,” he said.
“(But) India has relied on senior citizens, a move that has not worked over the years; let’s hope it works this time,” Manjrekar added.
Mohammed Amir played his last T20 international seven years ago – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar also spoke about the possibility of Pakistan National Cricket Team’s left-arm pacers Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Amir troubling the Indian top-order like they did in the past.
Manjrekar said that Amir has been out of international cricket for a long period of time and Shaheen does not possess the same quality that he used to have, so handling the pacers will not be a difficult job for the Indian team.
“Mohammed Amir played his last T20 international seven years ago. We have no idea what his form is like today. Shaheen Afridi is not the same bowler he was two years ago.
“India has handled it very well, if you remember the Asia Cup, even in the 50-over World Cup we had a one-sided game. I don’t see Pakistan as a major threat to India, apart from the names (of) Mohammed Amir and Shaheen Shah Afridi, I don’t think this is a problem for India,” he added.