India is carrying middle-order weakness to the World Cup, feels Sanjay Manjrekar

03/12/2019

Sanjay Manjrekar has stated that India’s middle-order is a weakness going into the World Cup and isn't in the league of Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, and Suresh Raina. The former Indian batsman is also of the opinion that India should end the experiment of batting Virat Kohli at No. 4 immediately.

With the top-three being as good as anyone in the World, India pose a threatening figure to every team in the World Cup. However, one of the major issues that come as a thorn on their march is the lack of firepower in the middle-over, which neither have the expertise of the top-order nor the ability to pull the team out of the woods at the time of requirement. Manjrekar is worried that the same situation would come out to haunt the Indian side in the World Cup.

"India are the best team in the World Cup but it doesn't mean they are going to win it for sure. They are soft under the belly. The middle order isn't in the league of Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, and Suresh Raina. It's a weakness we are going to carry into the World Cup,” Manjrekar told ToI.

Ravi Shastri had hinted in the past that they are going to experiment with Kohli at No.4, especially the conditions which will aid moving ball, and that was on show in Mohali on Sunday as the Indian skipper demoted himself down the order to accommodate KL Rahul in the set-up. It didn’t prove to be a wise decision as he came out to bat in the 39th over, and in order to accelerate, he lost his wicket. Manjrekar is of the opinion that India should end this experiment immediately.

"He must bat at No. 3. There is no point in demoting our best batsman, who has set the winning culture in this team."

After Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s uninspiring return to the white-ball cricket and Mohammed Shami’s regular impressive performance with the ball in all three phases of the bowling, the situation has become tricky for the team management. While some advocate for the fact that Bhuvneshwar Kumar-Jasprit Bumrah form is a very good partnership and gain symbiotically, Shami’s middle-over partnership-breaking ability gives him an added edge. Manjrekar decided to go with Shami in his XI, considering the current form.

"On current form, I will go with Shami. Back then, we had a pretty average attack. Kudos to the way Dhoni used his bowling options. For the first time, India are going to any major championship with a better set of bowlers than batsmen."

India is carrying middle-order weakness to the World Cup, feels Sanjay Manjrekar

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