It’s Not That Good': Ex-World Cup Winner Points Out The ‘Weak Link’ In India's Squad For T20 World Cup

[rollingstoned]

'It’s Not That Good': Ex-World Cup Winner Points Out The ‘Weak Link’ In India's Squad For T20 World Cup

 

BCCI revealed the 25-man India squad for the T20 World Cup to be held in West Indies and the USA from June 2

 

NEW DELHI: BCCI announced its 15-man India squad on Tuesday for the upcoming T20 World Cup, set to be hosted in West Indies and USA from June 2 to June 29 this year.

 

Former Indian cricketer Madan Lal, however, has expressed concerns over India's bowling attack for the upcoming T20 World Cup, particularly the inclusion of Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj in the main lineup.

While the batting section in the preliminary squad boasts names such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Suryakumar Yadav, the pace attack features Arshdeep, Jasprit Bumrah, and Siraj, with Rahul Dravid and co. opting for Khaleel Ahmed and Avesh Khan in the reserves.

 

The 1983 World Cup-winning all-rounder believes that the pace attack, aside from Jasprit Bumrah, is not strong enough.

 

In an exclusive chat with TimesofIndia.com, Lal said, "I don't like the pace attack. Other than Jasprit Bumrah, it’s not that good. Siraj has done well (here and there), but his performances at the international level have been patchy. I think India are going weaker on the pacer side."

 

Moreover, Lal maintains that this bowling line-up will heavily rely on Bumrah for wickets and match-winning performances. He emphasized the importance of having a potent pace attack, stating, "Not only in T20 cricket, you need a good pacer who can get you the wickets to win matches. Bumrah is a wicket-taker and a match-winner. Let's see how Siraj performs. Otherwise, India will rely on Bumrah a lot. The problem is that India should've got another pacer.

 

"If you look at the history, India performed well only when they had a good pace attack. Only then, they won a lot of matches. But I am not sure about Arshdeep, nor am I sure about Siraj. Pandya is not that effective either. I think the team management has taken a chance on him. The pace line-up is the weak link. Apart from Bumrah, we have to see how Siraj and Arshdeep bowl," continued the 73-year-old.

Lal's concerns about the bowling attack were evident when he told TimesofIndia.com, "Looking at the bowling side, I am not getting that much confidence."

 

When asked about his preferred choice for the bowling attack, Lal advocated for the inclusion of current Sunrisers Hyderabad death-over specialist Thangarasu Natarajan, stating, "If I had a chance (to pick one), I would've picked Natarajan. I would have vouched for him because he is a good bowler at the death. Mayank Yadav is too young. Yes, he bowls at a good pace, but the thing is whether he could keep doing it or not. But Natarajan has been doing it in every game."

 

Agree about pace attack but lack of batting depth and firepower is as big if not a bigger issue. We had that in '83 when we didn't have a great bowling attack. 

[Gollum]

Siraj is a horrible selection, especially if you consider his poor form across formats for the last 18 months or so. 

 

Nattu should have been there, I would have picked Rana as well, or Mayank fitness permitting. Sandeep Sharma is better than Siraj in this format. 

 

With Sardarji I still have hope that Indian jersey will bring out the best in him. 

[Bigg Brother]

Everyone knows it is chutya squad. No need to sugarcoat. Any squad which has Kohli-Rohit-Jaddu in 2024 is always going to be bekar squad. BC 17 saal se nahi jite, what's the point of their experience.

[vvvslaxman]

Siraj will enter into Dinda club many times lol

[cricketfan28]

Hope they are spin Friendly.

[bowl_out]

I'm surprised how Nattu's name wasn't even in consideration while all the '83 WC winners Madan Lal, Gavaskar, Srikanth have Nattu in their squads.

[Suhaan]

Indian loi side needs a major shakeup or complete overhaul of sorts

Someone needs to meet the demands of modern day cricket

[raki05]

Har baar ki bhanti iis baar bhi Shah ji ne hijaro ki fauj taiyar ki hai barring few youngsters!!! All these Irfans and Akash are nothing but hogwash, they can cry a river for rinku now to gain sympathy but isnt it true that all these ex cricketers barring irritating Manju have kept chokli and Sharma in their teams.

[Suhaan]

They are just going through motions and a genuine paid holiday trip to Carribbean and USA

[Suhaan]

Jadeja Kohli Axar Chahal Rohit

[cricketfan28]

Will be fun if we somehow manage to win this worldcup ..t20 needs some luck anyway.

[Ultimate_Game]

Weak link? Barring a handful of players such as Bumrah, Jaiswal, Dube and possibly SKY, the whole team is a weak link.

[putrevus]

Batting I feel will be fine but bowling not so much just like last time in Australia.

 

They needed another fast bowler and Siraj is useless.

[Bigg Brother]

6 hours ago, putrevus said:

Batting I feel will be fine but bowling not so much just like last time in Australia.

 

They needed another fast bowler and Siraj is useless.

Even Batting wasn't fine last time  

[putrevus]

10 minutes ago, Bigg Brother said:

Even Batting wasn't fine last time  

It was good enough to lead them as the team with most points and wins before semi.

 

When your bowlers cannot take single wicket then no score is good enough.

[Bigg Brother]

28 minutes ago, putrevus said:

It was good enough to lead them as the team with most points and wins before semi.

 

When your bowlers cannot take single wicket then no score is good enough.

So bowlers didn't contribute at all which made them to reach SF?? 

 

SF was on patta where your beloved batters played knocks of 27(28) and 50(40) 

[Suhaan]

1 hour ago, Bigg Brother said:

So bowlers didn't contribute at all which made them to reach SF?? 

 

SF was on patta where your beloved batters played knocks of 27(28) and 50(40) 

Every KO that we have played batsmen in recent times have performed way below par

Even the only KO that we won against NZ last year in 50over WC

Our top batsman said he thought 330 was more than enough on super belter Wankhede

If not for that relentless hitting by Iyer this side would be content with 330

This is mental disorder,they and the TM and cricket rulers have to choose between celebrity statpadders and actual potential who want to win at all costs

 

[putrevus]

4 hours ago, Bigg Brother said:

So bowlers didn't contribute at all which made them to reach SF?? 

 

SF was on patta where your beloved batters played knocks of 27(28) and 50(40) 

I never said bowlers did not contribute but when you don’t take no wickets no score is defendable.

 

Who deemed them flat tracks? For semifinal.

 

Edited May 2, 2024 by putrevus

[Adamant]

On 5/1/2024 at 6:46 PM, Bigg Brother said:

Everyone knows it is chutya squad. No need to sugarcoat. Any squad which has Kohli-Rohit-Jaddu in 2024 is always going to be bekar squad. BC 17 saal se nahi jite, what's the point of their experience.

Sachin 22 saal se nahi jita tha, what was the point of his experience? Why was he still picked in 2011?

[raki05]

7 hours ago, Adamant said:

Sachin 22 saal se nahi jita tha, what was the point of his experience? Why was he still picked in 2011?

Abey tu hamesha savhin ka rona rota hai. Sachin already retired as GOAT with highest run scorer in not just one but 3 wc. He dint have luxury of good bowler and batters through out his career, he had that support in 2011 and he won it for India. Whereas loosers of today inspite of sa, aus and pak are weaker teams than their predecessor keep loosing relentlessly every tournament. So stop this randi rona on Sachin.

Edited May 4, 2024 by raki05