After the defeat at the hands of Australia in Melbourne, former cricketer Irfan Pathan raised questions on the changed strategies of Team India. The former cricketer also expressed concern over sending Harshit Rana before Shivam Dubey with the changed order of Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson. According to him, the team should not think so much about left and right combinations. He also warned about Arshdeep Singh that if he gets less opportunities, he will play only to prove himself instead of improving.
Expressing his displeasure over the experiment in batting order, Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel, “Harshit Rana came to bat above Shivam Dubey, if this is a continuation of the left and right combination, then I do not agree with this. Shivam Dubey is a better batsman than both of them, he batted well in the Asia Cup and could have played here too. It was possible that he too would have got out early, but he should get more chances.”
May the strength not be lost – Pathan
Pathan said, “Sanju Samson came to bat at number 3, he was the first opener and then started batting down and then came to number three. Suryakumar Yadav, who was playing at number three, came to number four. See, it is important that the position of number three should be fixed for Surya, there is no need to come down from there. If Sanju goes up and down so much, then he might become so loose, that the strength which is there with flexibility. So…it’s over.” However, Pathan also admitted that in T20, except the openers, other batsmen have to be flexible.
Irfan Pathan also admitted that Sanju Samson is getting full support from the team, that is why he is able to play even after Shubman Gill comes into the playing 11 as an opener. But the former cricketer feels that his batting order should also be fixed. He said, “If you make so many changes then it is not right, he had scored 3 centuries while opening. He also scored runs with the old ball in the lower order. You need mental strength and support. But these things change when you have 3-4 failures.”
Targeted at Shubman Gill
Taking aim at Gill, Pathan said, “He has been brought back to the opening after removing Sanju, he will have to perform consistently. A batsman like Yashasvi Jaiswal is not playing T20, is not playing ODI for India. Such a capable player, who can score 200 in ODI and can also score a century in T20. His absence is definitely a cause of trouble.”
Pathan also raised questions that due to Sanju Samson coming third and Suryakumar Yadav coming fourth, Tilak Verma is forced to come at number 5.
Questions raised on Abhishek Sharma also
In the second T20, it was only Abhishek Sharma who batted well. He scored 68 runs in 37 balls with the help of 2 sixes and 8 fours. However, Pathan also raised questions on his game awareness. He said, “He and Harshit Rana had a half-century partnership, it happened in about 47 balls. Out of this, 33 balls were played by Harshit Rana, although he did his job and did what is expected from a lower order batsman. But here it was the responsibility of Abhishek that in this partnership most of the strikes were with Harshit. There you had to take more responsibility.”
