Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar feels that India has struggled to pick their final eleven for the past two years which has left the team unsettled.
India’s efforts to pick up a balanced middle-order has posed a major challenge for the team due to injuries, availability of player and many other reasons.
Since Rahul Dravid assumed the position of India’s men’s team head coach, experimentation has been a regular occurrence for the team hoping to find a set-up that works effectively in the batting and bowling department.
Ishan Kishan who is prominently recognised as an opener is now featuring in the middle order. Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya come out to bat according to the situation of India’s innings. The Indian pace trio has also undergone many changes over the past two years.
The veteran speedster feels that the change in positions has left numerous questions than giving away answers.
“I don’t know why I have this feeling that India could not pick its final eleven for the past two years? I don’t feel the team is settled because now you all have injuries, three or four people have been replaced and your squad seems unsettled. It’s a strange thing for me that the squad doesn’t seem settled. We still don’t know who are the four main batsmen and who will bat at No.5, will Virat bat at No. 3 or 4?,” Shoaib Akhtar said during a virtual press conference organised by Star Sports.
He also went on to express his dissatisfaction over Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh’s absence from the Indian team.
The former pacer reflected on how India needs to strengthen their bowling department rather than focusing on adding depth to their batting line-up.
“How they have not selected Chahal is beyond me. And again, I think Arshdeep needed to be in the squad because under pressure, when you are playing against someone like Pakistan, then you need that left-handed seamer. But the problem with the Indian team is that when they get out for 150 or 200, it’s not the batsmen but the bowlers who will have to perform. How long will you stretch your batting line-up? If the first five batsmen couldn’t do anything, then what will the No. 7 or No. 8 do? So, I literally believe that you’re playing with one bowler less,” Shoaib said.
The Rawalpindi Express also talked about the Hardik-Nehra duo that has been slowly building in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the past two years.
The player-management duo’s hunger to strive for success has been quite evident since they combined together for the IPL franchise Gujarat Titans.
“Hardik Pandya again, he turns out to be an asset for India. If we look at his all-round performance, then you feel as a captain, along with Ashish Nehra, he has taken his IPL side to such heights. He took his team to a final and won it and then reached the finals again next year. I think the combination of these two – Ashish Nehra and Pandya as a captain – can take India to new heights,” Shoaib added. (ANI)
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