Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer, has offered some valuable advice to the top-order batsmen of the Indian team, emphasizing the importance of retaining their wickets during the initial ten overs. He stressed the significance of showing due respect to the bowlers, especially in the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup 2023.
Manjrekar really highlighted the significance of carrying over Test cricket skills to the start of a 50-over match. He had some strong praise for the defensive abilities shown by India’s top three batsmen – Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Shubman Gill. Manjrekar underlined the solid performance of India’s top-order hitters and stressed how crucial it is for them to avoid losing quick wickets in order to steer the match in their favor.
While talking to Star Sports, Manjrekar said, “See, fortunately for India, number one, two, and three, when Virat bats at number three, they are three very good test batters. And you might talk about 50 overs being a one-day match and white-ball cricket and all that, but the start of a 50 overs game is not like a T20 match.”
“I think there are some serious Test cricket skills needed, and then Rohit Sharma got these five hundreds in the last World Cup,” he further added.
Manjrekar also shed light on the techniques of top-order Indian batters and told them to play with that technique.
“I remember him respecting the bowling in the first 10 overs. And these three guys – Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Virat – who have excellent credentials as defensive test batters, that is the game they’ll have to bring. If they don’t lose early wickets, then it’s just their game,” stated Sanjay Manjrekar.
In the midst of all this, Sanjay Bangar has illuminated KL Rahul’s remarkable adaptability. He gave insights into how, during their training camp in Bengaluru, the team management is delving into a multitude of batting combinations. Bangar stressed the invaluable versatility that KL Rahul brings to the team. The training camp serves as a testing ground for a variety of batting orders, showcasing the team’s eagerness to explore different options.
“KL Rahul is a very versatile player, especially when he is played as a batter. Sometimes he has opened the innings, sometimes he has batted at number 5. So, today we got to see a lot of things in this camp. Today, we also saw different pairs of players batting together, like as we have seen in yesterday’s session – Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma were batting in pairs.”
“Today, KL and Rohit were batting together in pairs. Thus, it means the team management might have this thought on their mind that whether KL Rahul can be utilized as an opening batsman. I don’t think this is their first option, but obviously, they want to give their best chance for that, or they want to keep an option with them,” he concluded.
