“Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar make India wanting”: Rahul Dravid sent a hard-hitting message

As India approaches the start of their 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, former cricketers and experts are thinking about which playing XI should pick. Without an ‘Impact Player’ rule like the Indian Premier League, management has to be extremely careful when it comes to team balance. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, therefore, feels that there should be more bowling options in the playing XI as the trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav are not bowling, making the team deficient.

In a chat on Star Sports, Pathan supported Yashasvi Jaiswal’s inclusion in the team, not just for his batting but also the fact that he can bowl an over or two if required.

“With the team selected, there can be two combinations. In one combination, you can play with six bowlers, including Axar Patel, to deepen the batting line-up. In the other combination, you can play with four frontline bowlers and wait for Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya to Bowl in the World Cup,” said Irfan.

“If Hardik can give him the option of bowling three to four overs, this problem will be largely resolved. Our other batsmen like Rohit, Virat or Suryakumar Yadav can’t bowl, which makes us somewhat lacking. If these players could pitch, it would greatly benefit the team. We talk about Australia, but even England have many versatile players among their top seven players, including Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone and Will Jacks. options, and yes, in this scenario, we are definitely at a disadvantage”, added the versatile retiree.

Another former Indian cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar, echoed Pathan’s sentiments about the lack of all-rounders the team has, saying that both Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya would need to be in the team, while also taking on the responsibilities of the bowling if India wanted to strike a balance.

“The lack of all-rounders is a bit weak for the Indian team. If you look at Australia, their batsmen like Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green can bowl four overs in a match. I think that’s why the team Indian has brought Shivam Dube into the side to mitigate the limitations that come with the lack of all-rounders. Yes, it is a small weakness, and now with the impact substitute rule in the IPL, this problem could increase these days. World Cup the team will need to make some adjustments and someone will have to bowl at least two or three overs in a match,” he explained.