In the series against Bangladesh, several senior Indian cricketers will be seen back in action after taking a break following India’s exit from the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Rohit Sharma will resume captaincy duties as India will now take on Bangladesh in an ODI and Test series. India’s performance in T20 World Cup 2022 was not up to the mark and many believe the team needs to change its approach in white-ball cricket. While split-captaincy is not a very popular concept in Indian cricket, with the amount of cricket being played these days, that is something the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) might mull over going forward.
Rohit Sharma, who remains to be one of the finest cricketers in white-ball cricket, wasn’t at his best in Australia – where he looked scratchy. In an exclusive interview with timesnownews.com, former Indian cricketer Maninder Singh opined that Sharma didn’t look 100% fit in T20 World Cup 2022 and how that affected India’s overall performance. Singh also backed Hardik Pandya to be India’s white-ball captain in future.
Virat Kohli’s performance in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 was one of the top highlights of the tournament. What did you make of his performance in T20 WC 2022 and do you think it will also help him rediscover his form across formats?
Maninder Singh: I am really hoping that happens. Because he is such a star, such an entertainer and he is so passionate about the game. And me being a fan of his, I have always wanted him to do well and thankfully after a long time, he consistently started scoring runs. Even though he was scoring those 50s and 70s, but he has set such a standard for himself that you are always expecting a hundred from him whenever he walks onto the field. But it was not happening. But I am sure his performance in T20 World Cup would give him a lot of confidence and it proved that he still has got a lot of cricket left in him and I am expecting him to do well in Tests as well.
In order to strengthen their batting, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal didn’t feature in a game for India at T20 World Cup 2022. How big a mistake was it according to you?
Maninder Singh: That was a blunder. If you see, every team had a leg-spinner in the side. England reached the final with a leg-spinner in their team. Pakistan had a leg-spinner who did so well and I was surprised actually because in T20 cricket we have seen leg-spinners being so successful. Yuzvendra Chahal is an experienced bowler, we had him in the squad but we sat him on the bench. Going in with Axar Patel, was a defensive approach, trying to strengthen your batting expecting him to score some runs. But Chahal always gets you wickets in the middle overs. He bowls to get wickets and that was what was needed in the World Cup and that is actually an important aspect in T20 as well as ODI cricket. If you have got a bowler who gets you wickets in the middle overs, that brings the run-rate of the opposition down because once you get a wicket, they have to start all over again so that was a big mistake. Yuzvendra Chahal and Rishabh Pant would have been in my squad from the first match.
Rohit Sharma is still a new captain as far as international cricket is concerned. What advice do you have for him to replicate Kohli’s success in Tests while leading India?
Maninder Singh: During the T20 World Cup, I don’t think Rohit Sharma was 100% fit. He was looking a bit slow, I know with age you get slow but if you work hard, you have got an example of Virat Kohli, if you work hard on your fitness as you are growing older…I don’t think Rohit worked as hard as he should have. Being the captain, you got to set examples. That didn’t happen and probably that is why, the team didn’t do well either because he is somebody when he gives a good start, he is a match-winner and a game changer. I am sure he has a lot of cricket left in him and with this time that he has got to think about his cricket, he would have realized that he needs to work a lot more on his fitness. With age, you get slower and if you start putting on weight, you get even slower. I am sure he has realized it and he would work on that aspect of his.
In order to revive Test cricket, do you think teams should have a much more aggressive approach in whites, just like England’s Bazball approach?
Maninder Singh: Since the time T20 cricket came into existence, the approach towards Test matches has been pretty aggressive. But overall, I think the Indian approach has to be aggressive in the sense in T20I and ODIs, you really need to have a fearless approach. During the World Cup, I saw some of the players in the shell. I will give you the example of KL Rahul. You need to make the most of the first six overs. I can understand the conditions in Australia are different from India or other countries but still, there were other teams who were going after the bowlers in the first six overs, trying to score 60 runs in the first six but we were thinking of scoring 30-35 runs, not giving away wickets. It becomes very difficult to catch up after that. In white-ball cricket, we need players with a fearless approach even if it means taking a gamble with the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill or Ruturaj Gaikwad for white-ball cricket.
As far as Tests are concerned, I am sure they think more aggressively and that’s why we are getting more results. One thing I would like to add is that the fearless approach can be seen if the coach also starts putting those fearless thoughts in the minds of the players who are going into a shell. I think Rahul Dravid will have to do a lot of work with the boys who are going into a shell.
Are you in favour of split captaincy for Team India? If yes, which players would you want as captains for India’s different formats?
Maninder Singh: Yes I feel you can have different captains for Test matches and white-ball cricket. Hardik Pandya, the way he handled his IPL team, it’s the reason why he was given the T20I captaincy against New Zealand, he has the material. There was a time when I used to think Hardik Pandya was just a happy-go-lucky kind of guy who just goes on to the field and enjoys his cricket but the way he handled Gujarat Titans, showed he has that cricketing brain as well which would help Indian cricket. So for white-ball cricket, I would really give it to him because whenever he talks after the matches, at the post-match presentation ceremonies, he looks like the person who could give us the change of approach which we need in T20Is and white-ball cricket. So I would hand over the white-ball captaincy to him.
Which players are you looking forward to in the series against Bangladesh?
Maninder Singh: My eyes would be on vice-captain KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma because they have disappointed all of us during the T20 World Cup. We all would like to see a different approach from these two and then whichever youngster gets an opportunity, need to grab it. Take the example of Hardik Pandya – whenever he got an opportunity, whenever runs were needed, whenever a partnership was needed, he really applied himself. Though in the T20 World Cup, he did not get many big runs, when it was required, he did. In the semis, he scored those 60-odd runs off 30 balls. That kind of an approach I would like to see from the Indian boys going ahead. Irrespective of the format, you just can’t go into a shell thinking – all the responsibility is mine.
