Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan has shared an intriguing perspective on how India should approach the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup. Pathan believes that India’s specialist batters should be prepared to bowl a few overs if needed, drawing inspiration from past all-rounder legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, and Suresh Raina.
In an interview with Star Sports, Pathan stated:
“If I were the coach, I would make a rule that if you are a batsman, you have to bat and if we need side-arm, you can’t go without bowling. Otherwise, you won’t get side-arm batting.”
Pathan emphasized the importance of having versatile players who can contribute with both bat and ball, similar to the approach taken by successful teams like Australia in 2021 and England, the defending champions.
“Pure batters don’t bowl at all, not Rohit Sharma, not Virat Kohli and not even Suryakumar Yadav are able to bowl,” Pathan continued. “So, that is where we get a little handicapped. Ideally, if one of them bowls, it will benefit the team combination.”
Drawing comparisons, he highlighted how England benefits from having players like Livingstone, Moeen Ali, and Will Jacks, who can bowl decently after their frontline bowlers.
Pathan’s Suggested Bowling Combinations
Irfan Pathan also proposed two potential bowling combinations for India in the T20 World Cup:
- Six Bowler Lineup: Incorporating Axar Patel as the sixth bowler.
- Four Frontline Bowlers: Depending on Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya to share the remaining overs.
“We can make two combinations. Six bowlers where you can play Axar Patel. Another option is where you have four front-line bowlers where you can hope that Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya will bowl,” Pathan elaborated.
Pathan further suggested that Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has been bowling in the nets, could potentially bowl one over to complete Hardik Pandya’s quota of four overs if he plays in the XI.
“There is one more player if you play, Yashasvi Jaiswal is regularly bowling in the nets, but he’s yet to bowl in the match. So, you don’t know what you’ll get. You can expect him to bowl at least one over in the T20 World Cup. If he bowls one over and Hardik Pandya bowls at least three overs, then this problem can be solved to a good extent.”
Adapting to Conditions in the USA and West Indies
Pathan noted that in the USA, India could afford to have an extra seamer. However, in the West Indies, a combination of three spinners, two fast bowlers, and all-rounders would be more effective.
“In the USA, you can afford to have one extra seamer, but when you go to the West Indies, you can have three spinners in your playing XI, two fast bowlers plus all-rounders. You can have that combination.”
Batting Lineup Flexibility
Pathan also suggested flexible batting lineups involving Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson:
“The good thing about this squad is you can have one squad where Rishabh Pant is ideal in the starting XI and obviously, he’s gonna be batting down the order. And then, you have Sanju Samson in the XI, but he has to bat up the order.”
Rishabh Pant seems to have secured his spot as the first-choice wicketkeeper following his impressive performance against Bangladesh in the warmup game, where he scored an unbeaten 53 runs off 32 balls, including four sixes and four boundaries.
India is set to kick off their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland in New York on June 5.
