Former captain Sourav Ganguly defended the Indian team’s aggressive batting strategy in the T20 World Cup, stating that even on two-paced pitched, top-order players like Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma shouldn’t restrain their attacking instincts.
After choosing to attack early in their tournament opener against the USA, India was reduced to 77/6 before rallying to score a competitive total. Ganguly felt this pattern is an unavoidable consequence of contemporary T20 cricket.
“That’s what T20 cricket is — you have to keep hitting. They are very good players and they have been doing this for a long period of time. It will happen. There will be some games where they miss out because they are human beings, and when you keep hitting all the time, you will miss,” PTI quoted Ganguly as saying.
“This is a very powerful team, a very strong team with balance — bowling, batting, spin bowling, fielding. As the World Cup goes on, they will get better because once you get into the tournament, the rhythm comes back. I consider India as favourites, and they will be a very hard side to beat.”
India’s numbers demonstrate how effective that strategy is. They are the greatest side in the competition, scoring at 9.69 runs per over and hitting a six per 10.99 balls, and they have crossed the 200-run threshold 20 times in T20 cricket since 2023.
India’s ability to change gears rapidly was demonstrated by recent chases of 208 in 15 overs and 153 in 10 overs against New Zealand.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav was hailed by Ganguly as a dependable match-winner who can win games on any given day.
“He came into this tournament with a lot of runs against New Zealand… I think he is a champion T20 player. The way he hits it to different parts of the ground is unbelievable.” “This is such a team where somebody will stand up on any given day, and as I said, all of them can take the game away,” Ganguly said.
Former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan claimed that despite losing pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah to a stomach ailment against the USA, the team showed its depth by successfully handling the challenge.
“Bumrah not being there was obviously a concern that everyone must have been thinking about, but (Mohammad) Siraj stepped up. That is something which is important as a team, a guy who has not been part of the squad getting a call-up and responding in that manner,” Zaheer said.
On whether Bumrah ought to bowl three overs during the power play, Zaheer recommended that India would benefit from distributing his workload evenly throughout the innings.
“I think they have experimented with that, and that is a good question. Bumrah has been doing the bulk of the workload in terms of creating impact. You can use him any which way you like, but you have to look at the whole set-up. I think he is better off at the back end of the innings, and that is something you will see going forward.”
Additionally, Zaheer supported Arshdeep Singh’s ongoing development, stating that the left-arm pacer has the means to keep becoming better.
“Arshdeep, as you mentioned, has been phenomenal. Swing is his strength. He has variations and is developing very well as far as I am concerned. It’s about making use of the opportunities.”
Ganguly emphasized that every game has importance and expressed surprise at Pakistan’s decision to withdraw from a World Cup match.
“I’m really surprised with Pakistan backing out of the World Cup. You come to a World Cup to win it, and every point is important. You can’t lose points in a World Cup, so I’m a little surprised — but that’s the decision they’re taking,” he said.
The Pakistani government had said that the team will play the remainder of the tournament but would not compete in the match against India on February 15 in Colombo.
