I would have stuck with slightly younger squad for T20 World Cup: Sanjay Manjrekar

Though Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out that the Men in Blue’s strategy hasn’t worked in past tournaments, India has backed their senior players to perform well in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.

In January, the renowned team of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli participated in the Twenty20 International Series against Afghanistan. For the first time since the 2022 T20 World Cup, India was playing in the game’s shortest format. There were rumours before this series that Hardik Pandya might skipper the team for this year’s major event in the West Indies and the USA, leaving Kohli and Rohit out. But in the end, the BCCI relied on experience, and both of the lucky right-handed batters were included in the 15-man roster.

If he had been the World Cup selector, former Indian cricketer Manjrekar claimed he would have chosen a far younger team. The cricketer-turned-commentator believes that India missed out on having a left-right combo at the top by starting both Rohit and Kohli in the squad.

Though the selectors have shown a commitment to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two legends, I would have rather kept with a slightly younger core group of players. It isn’t viable to have Virat Kohli bat at No. 3 now that they are in the squad since you won’t get to see his entire rally. India have essentially been compelled to stick with just one type of lineup—two right-handers—because Rohit Sharma must open. Manjrekar made this comment on Friday’s Press Room World Cup edition of Star Sports.

Yashasvi Jaiswal will regrettably have to miss out. Sanjay Manjrekar

If Rohit and Kohli open for the first-ever champions, Manjrekar suggested that Yashasvi Jaiswal, an explosive left-handed opener, will have to warm the bench.

Sadly, Jaiswal will have to watch from the sidelines. Had I gone entirely different, he would have had much more flair and the whole thing would have been different. “But India has put their trust in the seniors, which is a risky move that may pay off this time,” Manjrekar said.

Although Rohit failed to live up to his high expectations, Kohli emerged as the Indian Premier League’s top run scorer. But against the Afghans in his most recent Twenty20 international game, the Indian captain lit up the score with a brilliant century. In order to break their 11-year drought for an ICC trophy, Indian supporters would like to see their two elder statesmen succeed in the T20 World Cup.

Also read: India’s shortcoming is its lack of all-round players. Sanjay Manjrekar

On June 9 in New York, India will face their longtime rival Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. Manjrekar predicted that in the much awaited match, India would have little trouble defeating the Men in Green. The 58-year-old gave an explanation for why the Indian batsmen might not be as troubled by left-arm pacers Shaheen Afridi and Muhammad Amir as they were in earlier encounters.

“Mohammed Amir participated in his final international Twenty20 match seven years ago. We do not know what his current form is. Two years have passed since Shaheen Afridi was a bowler. If you recall the Asia Cup, India handled him quite well. In fact, we had a one-sided match in the 50-over World Cup. Despite the names of  Mohammed Amir and Shaheen Shah Afridi, I do not believe that Pakistan poses a serious threat to India. Manjrekar stated, “I don’t think this is an issue for India.