Veteran seamer Ishant Sharma sees many plusses in this Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 and reckons, Rohit Sharma’s team can win the world championship for the first time after 2007. (More Cricket News)
The Indian cricket team made a rocking start with a four-wicket win against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday but for Ishant Sharma, the good news is the way Virat Kohli struck the white ball and found the boundaries in a big ground like the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“I have played so much cricket with him (Virat) since childhood and I know that he will perform exactly how the team needs him to perform. If they require quick innings from him, he will deliver. If they need somebody to bat through the innings, he can do that, too,” said Ishant Sharma in an exclusive interview.
Kohli, the former Indian captain who lost his captaincy to Rohit Sharma, was the cornerstone of the Indian win against Pakistan. His unbeaten 82 off 53 balls and the 113-run fifth-wicket partnership with Hardik Pandya (40) bailed India out from a difficult position and set the match up for a tantalising finish.
Timely Strokes
India needed 16 off the last over and Kohli took the pressure off with a six in the fourth delivery that was called a no-ball due to height. Ravichandran Ashwin scored the winning runs off the last ball but it was Kohli’s six fours and four sixes, brilliantly peppered across his well-placed innings, that killed Pakistan’s fight.
“Virat Kohli will never think about individual accolades, he’s a team man. It just depends on the kind of role that he is given. He’s been in good form recently, so I am confident that Virat is going to score runs during this T20 World Cup,” Ishant added.
Ishant Sharma, who has played close to 200 matches for India and has spearheaded bowling attacks in the Indian Premier League, feels bowlers have a better chance to perform in Australian conditions because the “grounds are bigger than the grounds we find during IPL in India.”
Advantage Bowlers
“Grounds are so big in Australia that it can be easier to pick up wickets. You can at least have some sort of margin for error as a bowler. In India, you have no margin because the boundaries are 60 or 70 meters. You have to be so spot on in your execution. With my bowler’s hat on, this gives us a better chance,” said ishant.
India have the talent to win the T20 World Cup after MS Dhoni’s team won in 2007, feels Ishant Sharma. Although IPL form has little bearing on a World Cup, Ishant picks young players like Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav to deliver Down Under.
Ishant goes on to label Yadav as a “360-degree player,” an attribute that has been linked with AB De Villers, who has always found ways to score runs in white-ball cricket. Pant is India’s crisis man “who can win matches single-handedly” and that’s what makes Rohit Sharma’s India the team to beat in this T20 World Cup.
