Delhi Capitals (DC) director of cricket and former BCCI president Sourav Ganguly opened up on the need to adopt a fearless approach in Team India's T20I cricket and praised star player Virat Kohli, saying he has the ability to be a century from 40 balls. . Delhi Capitals are currently at the eighth position in the points table with six points after three wins and five losses. They lost their last match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Speaking at a media event in Delhi, Ganguly said: “The most important thing for India is to play without fear. There is no hard and fast rule about age and playing youngsters in T20Is, James Anderson still plays Tests and bowls 30 overs in Tests. MS Dhoni is still hitting sixes and both are in their 40s. Virat has the ability to hit a century off 40 balls. It's about playing fearlessly and freely in T20Is.
“India need to go out and bat. Rohit, Virat, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya etc. They are all exceptional talents and their six-hitting skills are immense,” he added.
While Ganguly would like to see the selection committee, coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit make decisions in the best interest of the team during the T20 World Cup, he would ideally like to see the opening combination of Kohli-Rohit.
“If you ask me, and it's just my personal opinion, and I'm not saying the selectors should do it because ultimately it's their decision, Rohit and Virat should open,” he said.
After a stunning home Test series against England, has Yashasvi Jaiswal fallen off the radar in terms of T20 World Cup squads, considering his recent IPL form? “I don't think Yashasvi's name has fallen too far down the ladder. He is a special player,” Ganguly replied.
For him, the selection for the T20 World Cup should not be based on one IPL season.
Elaborating on the Team India he wants for the T20 World Cup starting from June 1 this year in the West Indies/USA, Ganguly said there must be a balance between youth and experience.
“There has to be a balance between experience and youth. This is the case with great teams. You have to look at all the performances (both in IPL and international). India's experienced players are great because of the performances they have put in over the years to.”
Speaking about the Impact Player rule, which allows teams to use substitutes in the matches, Ganguly said it has not really reduced the role of all-rounder but rather given the team an avenue to play better batsman rather than an average all-rounder . .
“Good all-rounders always play and contribute. Look at Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell,” he added.
On KL Rahul's approach in T20 cricket, Ganguly said it all depends on what his captain and coaches tell him.
“His innings against Chennai Super Kings was exceptional (82 in 53 balls last Friday),” Ganguly added.
Ganguly said that IPL will indeed influence the way selectors choose the squad for the T20 World Cup but hoped that selectors will look at the performances of the last three to four seasons.
DC's next match is against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on April 24.
With PTI inputs
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