Indian cricket is probably in its best phase as far as the pool of players and the bench strength is concerned and lauding the same, former India player Sanjay Manjrekar has said that this is a happy headache for the team management.
In a chat with Firstpost during a virtual interaction organised by Sony Sports, Manjrekar spoke about Ravindra Jadeja’s place in the XI, Rishabh Pant’s abilities and how Dinesh Karthik has left a mark in the recent times.
Asked about Ravindra Jadeja’s place in the playing XI for the T20 World Cup, Manjrekar said that it’s not going to be easy for the all-rounder to find a place for himself considering the spin bowling options available in India’s arsenal. Manjrekar further pointed out the dominance that Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya have shown in the recent past with the bat has made it tougher for Jadeja to get a place.
“Clearly, Dinesh Karthik has shown that he can be a number 6 or 7 as a pure batter. The impact that he is making is phenomenal and we saw that in T20Is against South Africa and also in the IPL,” he said.
“So, it’s not really going to be easy for Jadeja to come in and take his place and India might settle in with somebody like Axar Patel.”
“The side now has Hardik Pandya, Karthik batting down the order. Rishabh Pant is also there so it’s not going to be easy for him. But knowing the kind of player Jadeja is, he will be making sure that the headache doesn’t get less for the selectors,” Manjrekar added.
When asked if Rishabh Pant’s place in the T20I side is under the scanner considering the amount of options that the team management has for the wicket-keeper batter’s role, the former India player said that Pant is a remarkable player but also admitted that he is still in the process of proving himself in white-ball format.
“Rishabh Pant has made number four his place (During the South Africa series). Although, I thought Hardik Pandya should have batted at that position after the way he performed in the IPL. Ishan Kishan at the top and number four will be totally different. We haven’t seen him at that position and that’s not an easy position to bat on.”
“KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan are openers and they aren’t really the options at number four or five. But the kind of performances that we have seen from all the guys, Rishabh Pant will feel the pressure of having to perform,” he said.
“My thing is wait and watch with Rishabh Pant because he is different, enigmatic and he has shown it at Test level. He is a remarkable player. But in the white-ball cricket, he is someone who is still in the process of telling exactly what kind of a player he is.”
“But, clearly the amount of players breathing down the necks of the senior players and the big names, it just very good for Indian cricket,” he added.
Jadeja, who didn’t really have a great outing in the IPL 2022 and was ruled out after suffering a rib injury, was included in the Test squad that will be locking horns with England in the rescheduled fixture slated to begin on 1st July, 2022.
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