“Having captaincy or not will not make any difference” – Irfan Pathan said about Rohit’s batting.
Team India’s former star all-rounder Irfan Pathan believes that Rohit Sharma will adopt the same aggressive attitude in IPL 2024 which he had adopted in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Let us tell you that Mumbai Indians (MI) bought Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans (GT) before the IPL 2024 auction. Later, he appointed Baroda all-rounder (Hardik Pandya) as his captain in place of Rohit for the upcoming edition of this cash rich league. Under the captaincy of Rohit, Mumbai Indians have won five IPL titles. During a discussion on Star Sports, Pathan was asked whether Rohit will play more freely in IPL 2024 since he is no longer the captain. Responding to this, Irfan said, “Weren’t there captaincy restrictions on him in the 50-over World Cup? There too he was the captain and played with an amazing strike rate. I think it will not make any difference whether there is captaincy or not. He has changed his outlook for some time now, it will make a difference in a short time. I think he will continue that template.” The former Indian all-rounder said that Rohit’s positive batting approach has benefited him a lot in recent times. Irfan said that, “It took him about a year and a half to achieve that template. Earlier, Rohit Sharma used to take his time for the first two or three overs and then score runs quickly. In the last two years, he took the responsibility and said that he will score fast runs from the first over and he has started getting the results now.”
India should focus on preparing a new captain after Rohit Sharma in 2024- Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan (Photo Source: Twitter) Team India’s former star all-rounder Irfan Pathan said that India should focus on preparing a new captain after Rohit Sharma in 2024. Rohit, who led the team in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup final, is currently captaining the team in the ongoing Test series against South Africa. Let us tell you that for some time now there was speculation that he would not continue to lead the team. He can also captain Team India in the upcoming T-20 World Cup 2024. Pathan believes that there could be a lot of changes in 2024 and India should prepare two or more players who can replace Rohit. The 39-year-old player further talked about Virat Kohli’s captaincy skills and his contribution to the team. Team India now needs two-three captains- Irfan Pathan Speaking on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan said, “A lot of changes are likely to happen in 2024. So if we prepare two or three captains, we will not have much problem. The focus should also be on which captain you will groom. The Indian team performed surprisingly well in the five matches. Under the leadership of Virat Kohli, he reached the number 1 ranking in Test cricket. His fitness was excellent. He performed well in every match and made the team perform brilliantly in every match. Rohit Sharma also made the team perform amazingly. Saw in the World Cup and he won the Asia Cup but who after Rohit Sharma?” Irfan further said that this year India will also have to focus on building a good fast bowling unit. Cricketer-turned-commentator Pathan said India do not have a potential backup in the ongoing Test series, and pointed out how Mohammed Shami’s absence in the opening match affected Team India. He said that, if Jasprit Bumrah gets injured then India will be in trouble.
‘Just a bad day…’, Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan on Team India’s journey in 2023
Indian women’s team won gold medal in Asian Games Team India (Photo Source: X/Twitter) The year 2023 was a great one for Indian cricket, however, it missed out on winning two ICC trophies. This year in the world of cricket, there were thrilling wins, heart-breaking defeats and many such moments which resonated across the country. Veterans Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan believe that in the cricket world, 2023 will be known as a wonderful year for Indian cricket. Sunil Gavaskar highlighted the women’s team’s victory and said that it was a great year for both the men’s and women’s teams. At the same time, he termed the consecutive historic Test wins against England and Australia as the most exciting aspect of the year. Let us tell you that the women’s team made a spectacular comeback after the defeat against Australia in the semi-finals of the T-20 World Cup and won the gold medal in the Asian Games. This is a great year for both men’s and women’s teams Gavaskar said during Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’ that, I think it has been a great year for both the men’s and women’s teams, especially the way the women’s team has performed. He continued by saying, at the end of the year they won two Tests, one against England and one against Australia, both teams against whom the Indian women’s team had previously faced difficulties. It’s certainly the most exciting aspect of cricket apart from what we saw in the World Cup. “Win 10 games in a row and then just have one bad day, which unfortunately was the World Cup final. There were some really exciting times ahead in 2023. It was an amazing year for the Men in Blue – Irfan Pathan Former fast bowler and commentator Irfan Pathan praised the team’s tremendous win in the ODI and called it a historic achievement. “I think it was an amazing year for the Men in Blue, the way they won matches. His win percentage in ODIs was the highest in Indian cricket history. I think it was one of the best years of Indian cricket. The former cricketer further said that, the World Cup trophy again remained a little away from us, but overall a lot of things were positive. We saw the form of Virat Kohli that we have been accustomed to for so many years, and Shubman Gill has had an amazing year. read this also- Top 10 off-field moments of 2023
SA v IND: “Please bowl him a little early in the next match…”- Irfan Pathan’s special plan to dismiss Dean Elgar
Dean Elgar & Irfan Pathan (Photo Source: Getty Images) Former Indian veteran all-rounder Irfan Pathan questioned the team’s strategy against former South African captain Dean Elgar in the opening Test of the two-match series in Centurion. Playing in his last series after announcing his retirement, the 36-year-old blew away India’s bowling with a brilliant inning of 185 runs off 287 balls. His innings gave the host team a huge lead of 163 runs in the first innings. Due to his innings, South Africa had to bat only one innings in the test match. South Africa won the match Winning by an innings and 32 runs, they took a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series. While talking to Star Sports after that match, Irfan Pathan said that Dean Elgar is weak against the short pitch ball and he is not able to score runs easily there. But the Indian bowlers could not take that advantage against them. Please bowl short pitch balls to Dean Elgar a little sooner in the next match – Irfan Pathan Pathan said, “Elgar has trouble against short pitch balls. When he was batting at 60-70 runs, you bowled him short balls. In the next match, please bowl them short balls quickly. He was out on short balls 4 times against Australia. I also talked about it in the commentary. You have to bowl very well in the second match to level the series.” Let us tell you that, this was Elgar’s 14th Test century in 85 matches and his second century against India, his batting average in 14 Test matches against India was 43.30. With Temba Bavuma injured, the left-handed batsman will captain South Africa in the second Test starting on January 3 in Cape Town. Also read: Richa Ghosh’s innings of 96 runs went in vain, India lost by 3 runs
IND vs SA: Sunil Gavaskar did not accept Irfan Pathan’s apology, know the whole matter
KL Rahul scored a century in India’s first innings in the Centurion Test. Irfan Pathan and Sunil Gavaskar. (Image Source: BCCI No one expected the way Indian batsmen performed in the Centurion Test against South Africa. However, KL Rahul scored a brilliant century in India’s first innings, for which he was praised a lot. Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan also reacted to his batting. He discussed about Rahul’s batting strategy. During this, Irfan Pathan was heard apologizing to Sunil Gavaskar on live TV, but Gavaskar did not accept his apology. Actually, KL Rahul played an inning of 101 runs against the host team in the first innings, which included 14 fours and 4 sixes. After this, Irfan Pathan talked about Rahul’s batting technique in that innings. His assessment was so accurate that even Sunil Gavaskar was left speechless. Know what Irfan Pathan said? During the lunch break on the first day, Irfan said, ‘See, first of all in terms of technique, Sunny sir had told how he should play under his head. For a batsman, it is always a matter of discussion whether he is moving his feet forward or backward while playing the ball. In Rahul’s case, he is letting the ball come to him, which is important. But apart from that, a brilliant aspect of his batting was the position of his bat. Pathan further said, the angle of the bat is not in line with his hands, it is a little behind. What this does is you get a little extra time. Otherwise, you will stumble and play the ball on your toes. This is where the possibility of cornering increases. Meanwhile, Irfan said, ‘Sorry sir!’, later Gavaskar said that he is not accepting his apology, because he also got to learn here. What Irfan said about batting technique is also correct. Don’t forget that he has been an all-rounder, so what he thought and said was from a bowler’s perspective. read this also- Father-in-law Shahid Afridi unaware of Shaheen’s injury! Statement of former cricketer revealed