Former India pacer Ajit Agarkar feels that exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin from the playing eleven in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy is a proof of how strong the Indian bowling lineup is. With the English pitches suitable for the Pacers, the team- management has pinned their hopes on fast-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya and have surprised one and all by dropping one of their most important bowlers in the first two games.
“At the start of the tournament some of the batters were not in a great form, but once the tournament started all the batsmen are in good form and bowlers are doing well. All the five bowlers are in good form. A guy like (Ravichandran) Ashwin not making the eleven tells you how well the bowling unit is doing,” Agarkar told PTI in an interaction.
India’s brilliant start to the Champions Trophy when they hammered arch-rivals Pakistan by 124-runs turned sour when the Men in Blue found themselves on the wrong side of the result against Sri Lanka on Thursday (June 8). A century from Shikhar Dhawan and fifties from Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni had propelled the defending champions to 321 but Sri Lanka staged a remarkable chase and reached the target with eight balls to spare. But despite the setback, Agarkar feels India are one of the favourites to lift the title. He also said that India’s current attack is one of the best that the team has had in a while.
“They (India) are one of the favourites because of the form the players have shown,” said Agarkar.
“As a combined attack, one of the best attacks we (India) had for a while. Even the ball has not swung in England, you got (Jasprit) Bumrah, Umesh (Yadav), variety is there, which helps the team always. Quite a complete attack. Not just balance, but there is variety, which makes captain’s life easier,” he added.
He also expressed his delight over the form of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma in the tournament. Dhawan, who was making his comeback to the team, has scored 68 and 124 in the first couple of games while Rohit, who spent around six months on sidelines due to an injury, has scored 91 and 78.
“Shikar’s form is very encouraging, but Rohit who did not have much cricket in the last six months due to injury, his form is the biggest plus for India, because coming into the tournament, probably he didn’t have enough runs that he would have liked but both the games (in which) he has batted, he looked comfortable,” said the former pacer.
The defeat against Sri Lanka, meanwhile, has put India in a precarious position, as they will have to win their final group game against world number one side South Africa to reach the last four. And Agarkar feels the Proteas will pose a tough challenge for the Virat Kohli-led side.
“They (South Africa) are the number one side (in ODI) and had a bad game against Pakistan, so it will be a tough game. They have not won an ICC tournament before in-spite of having such a good game. It will be a tough game for India. They will have to play well. South Africa like India is a balanced team and on the day they play well, they are difficult to beat,” Agarkar said.