India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2022 has had divided opinions. While some are fully in agreement with the players that have been picked, others feel one or two changes should’ve been made. Former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar has named three players that he feels should’ve been included in the 15-man team.
With the T20 World Cup taking place in Australia, Vengsarkar feels the likes of Mohammed Shami and Umran Malik should’ve gotten the selectors’ backing, especially after the sort of Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign they had for their respective franchises.
Shubman Gill, who was a part of the title-winning Gujarat Titans team, hasn’t played T20I cricket for India. Vengsarkar feels the opener should also have been backed for the showpiece event.
“I would have picked Mohammed Shami, Umran Malik and Shubman Gill for the T20 World Cup. Would have given them a long run in T20Is because they all had a brilliant IPL season,” Vengsarkar told The Indian Express. “I can’t really comment on who bats at what number. It is up to the think tank, the coach, the captain and the vice-captain. But I feel Suryakumar Yadav, who is batting at 4, can bat at 5 as well. He can be a great finisher.”
Furthermore, sharing his perception of the way T20 cricket is to be played, Vengsarkar is of the opinion that batters should not let bowlers get into their rhythm and should go after them from Ball 1.
“T20 is not like ODIs and Test cricket, where you need certain batters at certain positions. In this format, anybody can bat anywhere. You don’t have time to settle down. One should go after the bowlers from ball one,” said Vengsarkar.
India’s T20 WC squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
