“Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Make India Handicapped”: Rahul Dravid’s Direct MessageGiven that there won’t be a “Impact Player” rule for the T20 World Cup in 2024, the Indian team’s dearth of all-around options is cause for concern.NDTV Sports DeskUpdated at 10:06 AM IST on June 03, 20243 minutes to read
“Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Make India Handicapped”: Rahul Dravid’s Direct Message
Experts and former cricket players are debating which playing XI is best for India as the team approaches the 2024 T20 World Cup. In the absence of the Indian Premier League’s “Impact Player” rule, team balance becomes more crucial for management to consider. Because Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav don’t bowl, the team is handicapped, according to former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, who believes there should be more bowling alternatives in the starting XI.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is a valuable addition to the team not just for his batting but also because he can bowl one or two overs when needed, as Pathan supported in a Star Sports conversation.
“There are two possible configurations with the chosen squad. You can expand the batting lineup by using six bowlers, including Axar Patel, in one combination. You can also choose four front-line bowlers and expect Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya to bowl in this combination. Yashasvi Jaiswal, a young player who bowls in the nets but hasn’t bowled in a game, is another option for Team India. Irfan stated that Shivam Dube had also mentioned during the IPL that he has been consistently bowling in the nets in order to get ready to bowl one or two overs in the World Cup.
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The majority of this issue will be resolved if Hardik allows you to bowl three or four overs. We are slightly disadvantaged by the fact that none of our other batsmen, including Rohit, Virat, or Suryakumar Yadav, are bowlers. It would be very advantageous for the club if any of these players could bowl. While we’re talking about Australia, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, and Will Jacks are just a few of the many all-round players in England’s top seven. The retired all-rounder continued, “It’s always ideal to have more bowling options, and sure, we are clearly handicapped in this position.
In agreement with Pathan, Sanjay Manjrekar, a former cricket player for India, stated that for India to achieve a balance, both Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya must be included in the team in addition to taking on bowling duties.
“Team India’s lack of all-round players is a little weakness. Look at Australia; their bowlers, such as Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, and Mitchell Marsh, may bowl four overs in a game. I believe that in order to lessen the restrictions that come with having no all-round players, the Indian team added Shivam Dube to the team. Indeed, there is a minor vulnerability, and it may get worse now that the IPL has implemented the impact substitute rule. In this World Cup, the squad will need to make some adjustments, and someone will have to bowl at least two or three overs in a match. Currently, we rely on specialist bowlers and batters,” he said.