Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar thinks he would have chosen a much younger Indian group for the T20 World Cup, since overloading the team with seniors hasn’t worked in the past. Manjrekar stated that India currently has no choice but to combine Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the opening spot, despite his preference for the youthful and promising Yashaswi Jaiswal. Rohit and Kohli did not play many T20 matches for India last year, but they returned as selectors trusted the experienced players.
“Ideally, I would not have gone that way; I would have stuck with a slightly more younger kind of, core set of players but the selectors have committed themselves to the icons, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli,” Manjrekar said on Star Sports’ Press Room World Cup edition on Friday. “Now that they are in the squad, it’s impossible to have Virat Kohli batting at No. 3 because then you don’t get the full rally of Virat. Rohit Sharma has to open, so now, India in a way have forced themselves to have only one kind of combination — two right-handers,” he said.
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Manjrekar does not think Jaiswal would find a place in the Indian XI. “Unfortunately, Jaiswal will have to sit out. I would have gone completely with a new lot (and) then he would have had a lot more flair and it would be something different,” he said. “(But) India have trusted the seniors a move that hasn’t worked over the years let’s hope it works this time,” Manjrekar added.
The former India batsman also addressed concerns that Mohammed Amir and Shaheen Shah Afridi would pose a threat to the Indian hitters in the two arch-rivals’ showdown on June 9. “Mohammed Amir played his last international T20 seven years back. We have no idea what his form is like today. Shaheen Afridi is not the same bowler that he was two years ago. India have handled him really well, if you remember the Asia Cup, even in the 50-overs World Cup we had a one-sided match. I do not see Pakistan as a major threat to India, plus the names (of) Mohammed Amir and Shaheen Shah Afridi. I do not think this is a problem for India,” he added.