Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh urged the Indian team to play an aggressive brand of cricket in the Asia Cup 2023 and wants the team to follow the same template going into the ODI World Cup on home soil. The Men in Blue has announced a strong 17-men squad for the continental event starting on August 30.
Indian team has come under criticism for playing a more defensive brand of cricket in white-ball cricket, which backfired the team in the Asia Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup 2022. Rohit Sharma-led side has been one of the powerhouse in the game over the last decade or so, but could not win a single ICC trophy in the last 10 years.
Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Harbhajan Singh said that India needs to set the tone in the continental event and take them to the ODI World Cup in India and also wants them to decide the brand of cricket they play in the match.
“India have to play with a tone in the Asia Cup, that they wish to play in the World Cup as well. Now, the team has to decide what brand of cricket they have to play.
“Whether they want to attack right from the start, or divide the innings into two or three parts and approach each of them differently. The template has to be set here, and they should stick with it in the entire World Cup,” Harbhajan Singh said
Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Prasidh Krishna, and Jasprit Bumrah return to the Indian ODI team after a long-standing injury. The experienced batters will return to competitive cricket after a prolonged gap while Bumrah and Krishna have proved their fitness in the ongoing Ireland T20 series.
There Are Plenty Of Attacking Bowlers And Batters In The Squad – Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh wants India to play an attacking brand of cricket in the ODI cricket, as that would suit the Indian team batters and bowlers in the squad for the Asia Cup 2023 and feels that the middle overs are important in the 50-over format of the game.
“In my opinion, Team India should play attacking cricket. There are plenty of attacking bowlers and batters in the squad, so that is the right way to pick up wins,” Harbhajan Singh said.
“In ODIs, you should not think to play middle overs casually, you can play attacking cricket there as well because you have depth in the batting,” Harbhajan Singh added.
The highly-anticipated Asia Cup is scheduled to be played from 30 August to 17 September in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. India will walk in one of the favourites going into the continental event, as they will look to try and test players to finalize their strong playing 11 for the World Cup.