In the recent match between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Gill and Sudharsan showcased remarkable centuries, adding a historic dimension to the match. Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly emphasized the importance of leveraging Virat Kohli’s exceptional form by suggesting that he should open in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Kohli’s outstanding performance in the current IPL, where he holds the Orange Cap with 634 runs from 12 matches, averaging 70.44 with an impressive strike rate of 153.51, surpassing his career rate of 134.31, underscores Ganguly’s recommendation.
Ganguly said: “Virat is playing exceptionally well. The way Kohli batted last night – 90 in quick time, you need to use him as opener in T20 World Cup. He should open, evidenced by his last few IPL innings which have been outstanding.”
Ganguly expressed confidence in India’s well-rounded squad for the T20 World Cup, believing it possesses the capability to clinch the trophy after 17 years. India’s sole victory in the T20 World Cup dates back to 2007, during the inaugural edition in South Africa.
Sourav Ganguly – “Bumrah is the best fast bowler in the world at the moment”
The ongoing IPL has witnessed teams consistently surpassing the 250-run mark, a trend Ganguly believes will persist due to batters’ evolved mindset and the Impact Player rule.
Ganguly further added: “This is an excellent squad. I think they have picked the best possible squad. Apart from batting depth, bowling looks excellent. Bumrah is the best fast bowler in the world at the moment. We have experience in Kuldeep, Axar, Siraj. It’s an ideal combination we have this time.”
As someone familiar with hitting towering sixes during his playing days, Ganguly highlighted the need for bowlers to adapt to the evolving demands of T20 cricket. He singled out Jasprit Bumrah as a standout performer amidst the challenges faced by bowlers.
Bumrah’s impressive tally of 18 wickets from 12 matches, coupled with an economy rate of 6.20, the best among regular bowlers, underscores Ganguly’s point regarding the necessity for bowlers to enhance their skills to counter the dominance of batters in the shortest format of the game.
He concluded by saying: “This is going to be the trend in the years to come. T20 cricket has become a power-oriented game and that’s what it is going to be. I was reading Sanju Samson’s comments the other day, where he said there’s no time to settle down in modern T20s. You just have to hit, and that’s the way it is going to be.”
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