Danish Kaneria passed a stern warning to captain Rohit Sharma and his opening partner KL Rahul regarding their form. The former Pakistan spinner feels the pair needs to buckle up or India might face the same fate as they faced in the Asia Cup.
The BCCI on Monday announced the squad for the upcoming 2022 T20I World Cup in Australia, which gets underway on October 16. There is not much change from the Asia Cup 2022 squad that failed to reach the finals.
Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel expectedly have made a comeback to the side after recovering from their injuries. Mohammed Shami returns and has been added to the reserves as a standby option, while the batting order remains exactly the same barring the absence of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja because of an injury.
Danish Kaneria: Rohit Sharma And KL Rahul Must Score Runs In The 2022 T20I World Cup
Expressing his thoughts on India’s batting order, former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria said India’s fate in the World Cup in Australia will depend on how their top three perform with the bat.
While Virat Kohli showed great signs of returning to his best in the Asia Cup, Danish Kaneria still has doubts about the consistency of captain Rohit Sharma and vice-captain KL Rahul.
Virat Kohli scored 122 runs off 61 balls against Afghanistan, including 12 fours and 6 sixes, and he batted with a strike rate of 200. He has scored 276 runs in 5 T20Is in Asia Cup 2022 averaging a high 92 after scoring 35, 59*, 60, 0, and 122.
He passed a stern warning to captain Rohit Sharma and his opening partner KL Rahul regarding their form. The former Pakistan spinner feels the pair needs to buckle up or India might face the same fate as they faced in the Asia Cup.
“While Virat Kohli has returned to form, the likes of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul must score big runs. Otherwise, their campaign will be the same as it was at the Asia Cup,” Kaneria said on his YouTube channel.
While Rohit Sharma managed 133 runs in 4 T20Is in Asia Cup 2022, KL Rahul managed 132 runs in 5 T20Is in Asia Cup 2022 averaging 33.25 and 26.4 respectively. Both scored a fifty each but India was ousted from Asia Cup 2022.
Danish Kaneria: India Could Have Kept Umran Malik As One Of The Reserve Players
Death overs specialist Harshal Patel, who was undergoing rehab with Jasprit Bumrah at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, will also be joining the team in Australia. However, Umran Malik, who had a stellar Indian Premier League, failed to make the cut.
While Umran Malik’s omission may not hurt India’s plans, former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria debated that the pacer from Kashmir should have been considered among the standby players, considering the pitches in Australia.
“India could have kept Umran Malik as one of the standby players as the Indian batters would have got to practice against a bowler who can consistently bowl quick.” Kaneria added.
The 22-year-old pacer from Jammu and Kashmir, Umran Malik took IPL 2022 by storm as he has amassed 22 wickets in 14 games at a strike rate of just 13.41, an average of 20.18, and an economy rate of 9.03.
With his wicket-taking abilities came his ability to consistently hit the 150 kph speed mark. But he failed to do much for India, picking only 2 scalps from 3 T20Is averaging 56 at an economy of 12.44.
India failed to advance to the Asia Cup 2022 finals after going down against Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Super 4 stage of the continental tournament. The Men In Blue launch their 2022 T20I World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24. Babar Azam and co had defeated the Men In Blue in the 2021 T20I World Cup played last year in Dubai.