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Former Indian bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan has continued his rant against Hardik Pandya and this time the 39-year-old made comparisons with CSK all-rounder Shivam Dube . Pathan believed Dube could replace Pandya in the Indian squad and he would be "highly disappointed" if the 30-year-old Dube couldn't make it to the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the USA.
Speaking exclusively to Star Sports Press Room, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan spoke on the abilities of Shivam Dube and whether he will make it to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. “See eventually there will be a time where he'll put pressure on Hardik Pandya. If he starts bowling, the kind of hitting ability that Shivam Dube has, it's next to anyone. He's been able to murder the spinner. No one comes close to him as far as Indian cricket is concerned who are currently playing or trying to play. You can negate Mahendra Singh Dhoni because he has retired.
"But when it comes to batting in the middle overs, Shivam Dube is the best and I'll be highly disappointed if he doesn't go to the World Cup, because that's the thing we have missed in T20 World cups, in so many World cups, we've missed a guy like Yuvraj Singh, who can hit six sixes. Who can get a half century in 16, 17 balls. Shivam Dube is the kind of guy who plays fearlessly from the word Go. I was watching the game, he came in, first ball against the left-arm spinner first ball, second ball hit out of the park, I haven't seen anything like that. Yes, Hardiks ability as a hitter has gone down, and that is why a lot of people are talking about Shivam Dube as well. It might be that both of them will take the flight to the World Cup because you have to take experience as well, but I'm very excited about Shivam Dube and what he can bring to the table.”
They should not have let go of Yuzi Chahal and Hasaranga: Irfan Pathan on RCB's poor form
Speaking exclusively to Star Sports Press Room, former India cricketer Irfan Pathan spoke on what RCB lacks this TATA IPL 2024. “This is what I think. Their work starts in the auction. They need to have a better auction as far as bowling is concerned. They should not have let go of Yuzi Chahal and they should not have let go of Hasaranga. They have let go of so many good players in the past. KL Rahul as well. If they can get one or two players who can win the trophy, RCB is a team which is loved by the fans, which is right, but is it enough for them? They just need to think about it really sharply, otherwise they are just going to get the same result.”
Speaking exclusively on Star Sports Press Room, former Indian cricketer Mithali Raj shared her thoughts on Yuzvendra Chahal's inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad, stating, "Chahal has been in great form. To be very honest, if you are going to pick players on the basis of their form, he should be the bowler to be picked. But again, the captain's comfort and confidence in players are also something that one should consider, and the management, the composition of the team, how they want to look at it, matters. But having said that, he is someone who has been performing over the years. It's clearly, from his perspective, it's quite disappointing if he doesn't get picked."
Speaking exclusively on Star Sports Press Room, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan shared his thoughts on Yuzvendra Chahal's inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad, stating, "In the last World Cup in Australia, I kept saying that even during the semi-final, when all the commentators were there, from Nasser Hussain to Ravi Shastri, I said get Chahal and get to the final. But he was not there in the playing XI. What I want from Team India is to have a proper bowling unit. A wrist spinner is a must in the playing XI. When you go to the World Cup, a wrist spinner has to be there. So, Kuldeep Yadav is in great form. You'll have Jadeja as a left-arm spinning all-rounder because you need two spinners. So, it might happen that Chahal might miss out. Because you will obviously think whether you are going to take two fast bowlers or you're going to take three spinners. But, if a guy like Chahal who is a wrist spinner is not there in the Indian team, we're going to have a similar result to what we had before."
Speaking exclusively on Star Sports Press Room, former Indian cricketer Mithali Raj discussed Virat Kohli's inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad, stating, "We should definitely pick Virat Kohli because, when you're talking about experience going into the World Cup, he's also someone who's done very well in the last T20 World Cup. But again, in which order he plays and what is the requirements of the team, that is something the management and the captain have to look at. If he's scoring runs at this strike rate as an opener, then it's an option whether to bat him at No. 3 or as an opener. Of course, you have Shubham Gill; their approach is pretty much similar. So, it's up to the management, but I feel that if we are using the same yardstick of picking people who are in form, then we should also go with Virat Kohli."
Speaking exclusively on Star Sports Press Room, former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan shared his thoughts about Virat Kohli's inclusion in the T20 World Cup squad and the debate around Virat's strike rate, stating, "Virat Kohli's strike rate is actually slightly better than Chris Gayle's in international T20s. It's almost close to 138, Hardik Pandya's strike rate is 139, and Rohit Sharma's strike rate is 139. We don't talk about their strike rates, but we will always talk about Virat's strike rate. I think you need to consider strike rate with the average. You need to see the kind of role the particular player is playing. You can't have the same yardstick for every player. You can't have a similar strike rate. Do you think if a guy has a 137 strike rate and is batting at No. 6 or No. 7, he will be perfect? But if a guy who has nearly an average of 50 with a 137 strike rate, why would you even want to talk about him being in the side or not?”
(With Inputs From Press Release)