“Rohit, Virat, or Suryakumar Yadav, can’t bowl, which makes us somewhat handicapped” – Irfan Pathan on India’s area of concern in 2024 T20 World Cup

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has shed light on India’s Achilles Heel in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Pathan noted that the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav can’t contribute with the ball, which makes the team somewhat handicapped.

In the past, India had batters like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, and Yuvraj Singh, who all were more than handy with the ball. However, the current Indian team doesn’t have that luxury and it has led to their downfall on multiple occasions.

Meanwhile, the onus will be on all-rounder Hardik Pandya to deliver as a sixth-bowling option. 

“With the selected team, there can be two combinations. In one combination, you can play with six bowlers, including Axar Patel, to deepen the batting lineup. In the other combination, you can play with four front-line bowlers and expect Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya to bowl. Another option for Team India is a young player who bowls in the nets but hasn’t bowled in matches, Yashasvi Jaiswal. Shivam Dube also mentioned during the IPL that he has been regularly bowling in the nets, preparing to bowl one or two overs in the World Cup,” Irfan Pathan said on Star Sports.

Pathan feels it is always good to have extra bowling options as any of the main bowlers can have an off day at the office but the team’s hands are tied in this aspect.

“If Hardik can give you the option of bowling three to four overs, this problem will be largely solved. Our other batsmen, like Rohit, Virat, or Suryakumar Yadav, can’t bowl, which makes us somewhat handicapped. Ideally, if any of these players could bowl, it would greatly benefit the team. We talk about Australia, but even England has many all-rounders among their top seven players, including Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, and Will Jacks. It’s always better to have more bowling options, and yes, in this scenario, we are definitely handicapped,” Irfan Pathan added.

On the other hand, former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar concurred with Irfan Pathan and said that the lack of all-rounders is India’s kryptonite.

“Lack of all-rounders is a bit of a weakness for Team India. If you look at Australia, their batters like Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, and Cameron Green can bowl four overs in a match. I think that’s why the Indian team has brought Shivam Dube into the side to mitigate the limitations that come with a lack of all-rounders. Yes, it’s a small weakness, and now with the impact substitute rule in the IPL, this problem might increase. We currently rely on specialist bowlers and batters, but in this World Cup, the team will need to make some adjustments, and someone will have to bowl at least two to three overs in a match,” Manjrekar stated.

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on June 5th.