Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar hit the ground running during the ongoing IPL season and made his prediction for the qualifier between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and also spoke about the upcoming T20 World Cup. He also said that Hardik Pandya can lead India in the shortest format after leading Gujarat Titans to the IPL final in their first season. When asked why he predicted RCB would win the qualifier, he said: “Things are falling into place for Bangalore, they have class bowlers, they performed well in the last match where Mohammed Siraj took a crucial wicket”.
Manjrekar added that Harshal Patel is the trump card of the team. “Now that they’ve reached this point, they’re not giving up.”
“Hardik Pandya surprised us at how comfortable he looked in a leadership role as captain of Gujarat Titans,” Manjrekar said of Gujarat Titans, who have reached the final.
He showed confidence in Hardik Pandya’s ability to be the captain of the Indian team in T20Is and replied positively.
“If you lead a team in the IPL, you can lead Team India,” he said.
Manjrekar said this because of the immense pressure and high stakes a captain faces while leading a team in IPL.
Though he was initially dubious about adding two more teams, he said: “This IPL will only be remembered for one reason: the quality. The lesser known names kept the quality of IPL and not the iconic players of the big names.”
He showed optimism towards the new players in the current season and said they defied the cliché of “big games, big players”.
When asked about his attitude to Kohli’s form and the questions asked about his entry into the T20 World Cup squad, Manjrekar strongly disagreed.
He said: “No, Kohli absolutely cannot be deposed as there is a huge difference between IPL and World Cup.”
He referred to the batsman’s performance in the famous match between India and Pakistan at the World Cup, where Kohli scored half a century. He added: “For matches of this size you need people who have been there, who have done that. That’s why, despite Kohli’s form, he should be in the roster along with Rohit Sharma and other newer players.”
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When asked about his take on KL Rahul’s performance, he said: “When KL Rahul plays as ‘one of the players’, his performance is much better than when he plays as captain because he takes on too much responsibility , especially after becoming captain.”
He added: “KL Rahul has the ability to play at will. If he thinks he will play with a strike rate of 150 today, he can. But the reason he often slows down is because he has decided to play it safe.”
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