Sanjay Manjrekar doesn’t mind Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma registering below-par scores in Group A if the batting veterans bail out Team India in any of the upcoming Super 8 fixtures at the ICC T20 World Cup. According to Manjrekar, the batting mavericks are headlining the ICC event because of their ability to play defining knocks in crucial fixtures of the T20 World Cup.
Batting icon Kohli failed to notch up a single double-digit score in the T20 World Cup’s Group A clashes while India skipper Rohit scored a crucial half-century against Ireland. However, Rohit, too, struggled to score big against Pakistan and the United States of America (USA). After topping Group A in the T20 World Cup, Rohit’s Team India has entered the Super 8 stage as strong contenders to lift the famous trophy in the Caribbean. In what appears to be their last dance in an ICC event, Rohit and Kohli are yet to regain top form for the 2007 champions.
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‘Didn’t expect Pant to be batting at No. 3’
Speaking to news agency PTI, former India batter Manjrekar credited the Rahul Dravid-coached side for promoting Rishabh Pant as a No.3 batter in their attacking lineup. “They (team management) want more and more impact players, at every position down the order and Rishabh Pant, I didn’t expect him to be batting at No. 3, and what a brilliant move it has turned out to be, starting from that warm-up game against Bangladesh, when Samson and Rohit Sharma took some time to get used to the surface,” Manjrekar said.
‘Pant has showed his class’
The former India cricketer and full-time pundit also picked Pant as the Indian side’s standout performer at the ICC event. Pant is India’s leading run-getter with 96 runs in three matches of the T20 World Cup. “Pant has showed his class. He has been India’s best batter in this tournament so far, and on a difficult pitch, and that is Rishabh Pant’s class. That they gave him the No. 3 slot also ensured that India don’t have six right-handers like they had in that 50-over World Cup and the only left-hander India had was Jadeja at No. 7,” Manjrekar added.