Sanjay Manjrekar thinks the decision about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma being on India’s T20 World Cup team should wait until nearer to the event.
Uncertainty remains if Kohli and Rohit will participate in India’s plans for the shortest game form. The seasoned pair have a break for the soon-to-happen T20I and ODI series against South Africa – they’ll only join for the two-match Test series after the tour’s white-ball part.
Sanjay Manjrekar was questioned on the Star Sports show Game Plan if Rohit and Kohli should be in India’s T20 World Cup lineup, to which he responded:
“Who knows what’s in store in life? I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. I believe the approach should be extremely simple. We have played a lot of World Cups and haven’t been able to win them.”
Sanjay Manjrekar
The former India batter added:
“We are maybe playing slightly different cricket in the final stages of World Cups. When something goes out of your hand, simplify it. Pick your team based on form close to the World Cup.”
Sanjay Manjrekar
Team Blue hasn’t won a global event since the Champions Trophy in 2013. Since then, in the four T20 World Cup competitions, they faced defeat twice in semi-finals and once in the final. The 2021 knockout stages were another hurdle they couldn’t overcome.
“Virat Kohli will have to show that he is a better option than the youngsters who are playing currently” – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar thinks Virat Kohli should perform better than the young players, and Rohit Sharma should excel more than Hardik Pandya, both in playing and leading. He stated:
“Virat Kohli will have to show that he is a better option than the youngsters who are playing currently, and Rohit Sharma as T20 batter and captain vs Hardik Pandya, the T20 batter, all-rounder and captain.”
Sanjay Manjrekar
The ex-cricketer who is now a commentator mentioned that the ultimate decision should be made solely on merit. He declared:
“This should be the competition and you should only go with merit there because we have seen what we have got with great players, stature and experience.”
Sanjay Manjrekar
Virat Kohli shined at the T20 World Cup last year, scoring 296 runs. Rohit Sharma struggled a bit in that tournament. But he made a strong comeback in the ODI World Cup that just ended. His aggressive style of play could push him to a leading spot as an opener.