Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly believes skipper Rohit Sharma should open the batting for Team India alongside Virat Kohli in the upcoming ICC T20I Men’s World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in the USA and West Indies.
Rohit and Virat should open: Sourav Ganguly
Sourav Ganguly believes that Virat Kohli has the potential to score a century in just 40 balls and hence, should move up the order for the upcoming T20I World Cup. "Virat Kohli has got the capability of getting a 40-ball 100 also. As I said at the start, India, with the talent they have, you just need to go and hit. Mindset should be to hit and then we'll see what happens after 5-6 overs," Ganguly explained to PTI on Monday.
"If you ask me and it's just my personal opinion and I'm not saying that the selectors should do it, because at the end of the day, it's their call, Rohit and Virat should open,” he further added clarifying that it’s just his opinion and the final decision rests with the selectors and coach.
He's a special player: Sourav Ganguly lauds Yashasvi Jaiswal
The former Team India captain was also asked about the possibility of dropping Yashasvi Jaiswal from the World Cup squad, who has not been able to deliver promising performances in IPL after his exceptional show in the home Test series against England, in which he scored two double centuries in consecutive matches.
Dismissing the idea of dropping Yashasvi from the team, Ganguly said, “I don't think Yashasvi's name has dropped too far down the ladder. He's a special player.”
“You have to look at every performance. A good team is a balance of experience and youth. Experienced players in India are tremendous and I'm not saying only because of the number of games they have played but it's the performances they've put over a period of time. It's unbelievable,” he further added.
“So from that point of view, it has to be a mixture of young and youth. I'm sure the selectors are matured enough to see over a period of time, not just one IPL, but 2, 3, 4 IPLs. Like someone like Shivam Dube, he did it last year also. You gave him a chance for India, he whacked it there also. So they've done it over a period of time, Rishabh Pant, Dubey, Surya," Ganguly said while explaining why one season can not determine Jaiswal’s caliber.
The ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2024 will be taking place in the United States of America and the West Indies from June 2, 2024, with the final scheduled to happen on June 29, 2024.
