Former T20 World Cup winner with India, Robin Uthappa believes the upcoming T20 World Cup was the chance to pass the reigns to the youngsters, rather than the ‘senior’ players.
“I’m gonna catch a lot of flak for this, but I’ll take it. I think they should’ve moved on after the previous World Cup itself,” Uthappa said on JioCinema. “I think the youngsters should’ve played in this World Cup. The senior players have had their go, and these guys are showing true potential. The fact that they’ve been performing in IPL consistently… a lot of these guys who are performing now, the likes of Shubman Gill should be there.”
Pressing on the need to have had Gill and some of the other youngsters in the team, Uthappa added, “He (Gill) should be part of any World Cup right now. The potential, the ability, the hunger he has got in his own game and what he wants to achieve is tremendous. The opportunity for all of that should be present. They should get the opportunity at the highest stage, like the World Cup.”
India’s T20 World Cup squad was announced earlier this month. Among some notable exclusions were that of Gill and Rinku Singh, both of whom will be travelling with the squad as reserves.
Seniors under scanner
Also concerning for India is the form of some of the senior players part of the squad including captain Rohit Sharma and his deputy Hardik Pandya, who has had a nightmarish season as the new Mumbai Indians captain.
MI, the five-time IPL winners, were the first to be knocked out of playoffs contention and the dismal performances from Rohit and Hardik certainly played a part.
While the Indian skipper has amassed only 349 runs off 13 innings, averaging 29.08, Pandya has neither fired with the bat or ball. Scoring a meek 200 runs off 13 games, the MI captain has conceded at over 10 runs an over while snapping 11 wickets.
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