Irfan Pathan has named three out-of-favour pacers who can compete for one spot in the 2022 T20I World Cup squad. Over the past couple of T20I series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, India has inclined on testing their bench strength – especially among bowlers.
The likes of Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, and Mohammed Siraj have played in series against West Indies and Sri Lanka in addition to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur, and Deepak Chahar, who have been first-team regulars over the past year.
Irfan Pathan Wants A Left Arm Pacer In India’s 2022 T20I World Cup Squad
On the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka last year, Team India travelled with a fairly inexperienced squad due to a majority of first-team players preparing for the Test series in England. Left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya was a part of the squad; however, since then, no left-arm quick has featured for India in the shortest format of the game.
Former Indian fast bowler Irfan Pathan – a left-arm pacer himself – advocated for the presence of at least one left-arm quick in the T20 World Cup. Irfan Pathan also named three names who have the potential to be in the squad for the global tournament, which is scheduled to take place in Australia later this year.
“With all these names (the Indian bowlers already part of the squad), I just want to add another name — that of a left-arm bowler, and that can be whoever performs in the IPL — Khaleel Ahmed, Natarajan, or Chetan Sakariya.” Irfan Pathan said.
“I know Sakariya is a bit rusty at the moment, but if he performs in the IPL, he will be an option. Left is always right!” Irfan Pathan said.
Khaleel Ahmed had last appeared for India in November 2019 during a T20I against Bangladesh. Chetan Sakariya made his international debut last year on the Sri Lanka tour playing two T20Is and one ODI. However, he hasn’t been picked by the team since then.
T Natarajan, meanwhile, had played last year for the side during the series against England; however, an injury ruled him out of the majority of the first phase of the IPL season in 2021 and he eventually fell down in the pecking order for international selection. T Natarajan had made his debut sensationally across all formats during the Australia tour of the 2020-21 season but repeated injury concerns have kept him away from the national team.
India Wins 12 Consecutive T20I Matches
India is enjoying a great run in the T20I format at the moment. The side has won 12 consecutive matches in the shortest format with the latest being the 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka at home. Prior to this, they also defeated New Zealand 3-0 and West Indies 3-0 in the three-match series while the earlier three wins came during the 2021 T20I World Cup played last year in the UAE.
Rohit Sharma’s men equalled the world record for most successive wins in T20I cricket. Their 6-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Sunday in Dharamsala was the 12th successive in the shortest format of the game. The unbeaten run began during the 2021 T20I World Cup as India shook off decisive defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand to win their remaining three matches.
Rohit Sharma, who took over from Virat Kohli as India’s full-time T20I captain after the World Cup, led India to a 3-0 clean sweep of New Zealand at home last year. He was also instrumental in helping India hammer West Indies 3-0 earlier this month as well.