"Do India Need 8 Batters?" World Cup-Winner's Veiled Dig At Pakistan Ahead Of Mega Clash
India lined up with just three mainstream bowlers against the UAE in their opening match on Wednesday.
Former cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth has questioned whether the Indian team should continue with eight batters in their upcoming match against arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2025. On Wednesday, India lined up with just three mainstream bowlers - Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav - in their tournament opener against the United Arab Emirates. Srikkanth was one of many experts to criticize the decision to leave out pacer Arshdeep Singh, who is India's all-time leading wicket-taker in T20Is. The 65-year-old also pointed out how Pakistan also went with just one frontline fast bowler in their match against Oman.
"I said Arshdeep should have played in the first match itself. Do India need eight batters for playing 20 overs? Especially against a team like Pakistan, do you need eight batters? We don't even know if more than four batters will get an opportunity. The problem is everything has become spin-oriented, and there is little assistance for medium pacers. Pakistan themselves have gone spin-heavy, dropping Haris Rauf," Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
In the same discussion, Srikkanth backed opening batter Abhishek Sharma to "tee-off" against Pakistan if he can survive the initial overs in the Powerplay.
"He scored even against England. But we have to wait and see. I won't hype him up too much yet. Though it happens to all attacking batters, he occasionally mishits the short delivery on his body and gets caught. Even in the IPL, he got out two or three times at square leg against that delivery. Pakistan will try bowling at his chest and into his body. But if he gets through the initial stage, Abhishek Sharma will smash the bowling," he added.
In their opening match, Team India bundled out the UAE for just 57 runs in 13.1 overs, with openers Alishan Sharafu (22) and skipper Muhammed Waseem (19) being the only ones to reach double figures.
Abhishek Sharma and vice-captain Shubman Gill unleashed destruction right from ball one. With the loss of one wicket, India chased down the total in just 4.3 overs.
(With PTI Inputs)
India Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team