Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are very important to the Indian cricket team because they can perform well in important matches. Manjrekar said he would be okay with these two players not scoring much in the early rounds of the T20 World Cup if they can play a big role in the semi-finals or final. Even though Kohli has not scored well, not reaching ten runs in any of the three finished games, team captain Rohit did well with a score of fifty against Ireland. However, he didn’t score much in the next games against Pakistan and the USA.
“If you choose players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, you’re picking experience. You want your experienced players in the World Cup to perform well when it’s most important,” Manjrekar said in a special interview with PTI. The ex-India player also mentioned, “So, I’m okay if some players aren’t doing well right now. If they play a big innings in a semi-final or final to help win the title, that’s what you expect from your older players.
“If a young player does well, that’s extra good, like when Inzamam ul Haq did for Pakistan in 1992. It’s the older players who need to do most of the work, and that’s why I think selectors choose experienced players for the T20 World Cup or World Cups in general.”
Manjrekar, a well-known cricket expert who has played 37 Test matches and 74 One Day Internationals, was asked about the future of Kohli and Sharma in T20 cricket after the World Cup. Manjrekar thinks the decision depends on the players themselves and the head of the national selection committee. He said, “The best person to ask about this is the head of the selection committee, as they know their plans. The players can also share their own plans. The selection committee will likely start thinking about this towards the end of the tournament.”
Shivam Dube, who played well for the Super Kings in the IPL, is having trouble adjusting to the difficult New York pitch. He struggles when the ball doesn’t come easily to the bat. As a player known for hitting hard, it’s unclear how effective he will be on Caribbean pitches, where hitting straight might not be the best approach.
“We’ll have to wait and see. because the powerful hitting we saw from Shivam Dube was on pitches that were easier for batting. So it will be interesting whether Dube can take his game to the next level.” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
