"Not Captaincy, But..." Irfan Pathan's 4-Point Formula On What Needs To Change In Indian Cricket
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan isn't in favour of a captaincy change in the Indian team after the T20 World Cup 2022 disappointment.
The manner of India's exit from the T20 World Cup 2022 has put most players in the spotlight. Be it the skipper Rohit Sharma or veterans like Mohammed Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin, their roles and spots in the team have been questioned by many former cricketers and experts. Some have even asked for a change in captaincy in the T20 format. However, former India all-rounder, Irfan Pathan, doesn't think changing the captain is the need of the hour at the moment. Rather, he feels what needs to change is the approach towards the game.
A number of former cricketers and fans have put forward the name of Hardik Pandya as India's next T20 captain, especially keeping the T20 World Cup 2024 in mind. Irfan, however, isn't in favour of such big changes considering Rohit only took up the job a year earlier, after Virat Kohli quit the team's captaincy following the 2021 T20 World Cup.
In a tweet, Irfan explained what changes should be made in the Indian cricket team going forward.
He tweeted: "Indian cricket going forward 1) Openers playing freely, At least one of them. 2) Wrist spinner (wicket taker ) is must. 3) Tear away fast bowler. 4) please don't think changing captaincy will give us changed result. It's the approach what needs to change."
Indian cricket going forward 1) Openers playing freely, At least one of them. 2) Wrist spinner (wicket taker ) is must. 3) Tear away fast bowler. 4) please don't think changing captaincy will give us changed result. It's the approach what needs to change.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 15, 2022
Earlier, Irfan had also pointed out the 'risk' of making Hardik Pandya the captain. The all-rounder hasn't had an injury-free history. Irfan, hence, fears what happens to the team and plans if Hardik picks up an injury right before a big tournament.
"So, I'm not saying that if you change the captain, you change the result, if you go like that, you're not going to change the result. And with Hardik Pandya, you need to understand, we all need to understand, that he's a fast-bowling all-rounder. He has injury issues as well. What if he is your captain who is getting injured right before the World cup? And if you don't have any other leader ready, you'll be in a mess," said Pathan on Star Sports.
"So, what I personally think is that Hardik Pandya is a leader, who has done very well in the Gujarat Titians, won IPL, won the championship trophy. You need to find not one, but two leaders going forward to build their mark. You know just like we talk about openers - we need to have a group of openers, we also need to have a group of leaders," he had further said.
India Cricket Team
Irfan Pathan