Ever since Sanjay Manjrekar has started commentating, he has been following Indian cricket pretty closely. He has always been known to speak his mind and he reckons that in order to succeed in England, Team India can’t be overdependent on captain Virat Kohli As he said that India’s batting needs to be consistent.
During a recent chat with Sportstar on the sidelines of India’s historic Test against Afghanistan, Manjrekar talks about India’s chances in England. He said, “Among all the Test matches that have been played so far, the last one in South Africa especially, tells us what is needed for the England tour. Performances in the sub-continent have to be disregarded when you are playing in places like Australia, England, New Zealand or South Africa because it is a completely different challenge.”
ALSO READ: Ajinkya Rahane Will Prepare For UK Tour In Mumbai
Talking about India’s chance of making it count in England, Sanjay said, “At home, England is a very beatable side now. It is one of the only top teams that tend to lose at home. So, India has a very good chance. According to me, India’s only concern is its batting. It relies too much on Kohli of late on overseas tours and that issue needs to be addressed.”
He further elaborated, “If you look at the previous overseas campaigns, the Indian batting looked good because Murali Vijay was in top form. Ajinkya Rahane was very consistent. So, it is important that they get back to prime form. If they do, Virat will get some support, otherwise, batting will be an issue. (Shikhar) Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara have shown us that when it comes to overseas Test matches, they don’t make as much of an impact with the bat.”
WATCH: Ajinkya Rahane Proves Why Cricket Is A Gentlemen’s Game
When asked about Rahane’s chances in England, Manjrekar replied that despite his current form Ajinkya has to perform well. He feels that Rahane has a more than just decent average in overseas conditions and he deserves to be given the long rope. Virat, of course, is in a different league.
Majrekar concluded by talking about bowling attack of the Indian team, he said, “In the last trip to South Africa, our bowling was quite impressive. So, I think bowling will be our strength. It was our strength in South Africa as well. With the emergence of (Jasprit) Bumrah as the strike bowler, it has become much stronger. Batting will need to stand up too. It can’t just be about one man, like in the 90s where (Sachin) was the only Indian batsman who would score runs consistently overseas.”
