Tweaking time back on home turf
BUILD-UP Sehwag believes India’s current form, formidable spin attack makes them the team to beat at home; Gambhir feels Yuvi finding his best will be the key
NEW DELHI: Virender Sehwag believes there is just one percent chance of India not regaining the World Twenty20 title. The former batting stalwart believes spinners will come into their own on home turf, making life difficult for opponents.
“India has 99 per cent chance of winning the World T20… I say this because India has one of the world’s best batting and bowling line-ups. “The team has been in great form since the Australia tour and the combination looks good. And as the tournament progresses, wickets will get slower and the spinners will come into play.
“We have the best two spinners and our reserve spinners are also dependable,” Sehwag said at the Aaj Tak Salaam Cricket conclave on Monday. “Dhoni likes throwing surprises and we can even see Harbhajan Singh playing as the third spinner later on.” DHONI AT NO 4 Sehwag wanted skipper MS Dhoni to consider promoting himself to No 4. “We saw Dhoni coming at No 4 in the Asia Cup final. Though he has promoted himself on very f ew occasions, the way he assesses
the
game and can run it, nobody else can. Also, he knows how to make others play alongside, which is the most important thing. My suggestion to Dhoni would be to bat at No 4 considering the form he is in. I’ve been saying this since the 2015 World Cup.”
Former India opener, Gautam Gambhir hailed Virat Kohli’s anchoring qualities. “Virat is a finisher for me. An opener can also be your finisher, it’s not necessary that a finisher would be your number 6 or 7 batsman.” CUP-WINNER YUVI Gambhir wanted Yuvraj Singh to rediscover the kind of form which took India to the 2011 World Cup and won him the Man-of-the-Series award. “Yuvraj has made a comeback, and whenever India has done well in the World Cup, Yuvraj has played a key role. This time too, he has to be at his best.”
Former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul Haq said a strong top order was important, but a lower order makes all the difference in T20. “The way Virat has been playing, no other player is even playing the same way. (And) I have always said every team has a strong top order. Australia, South Africa all have strong top orders, but any team which has a lower order that knows how to finish games is the most dangerous. And India, I believe, has the strongest lower order; they have Yuvraj, Dhoni, Raina and Jadeja.”
Inzamam predicted that India will be rewarded for picking the extra bowler. “For a very long time, India used to play with four main bowlers, but now they have been going in with five specialist bowlers.
“On any given day, one of your main bowlers will have an off-day but now India is equipped properly and also has part-timers like Yuvraj and Raina. This is one factor which makes India different from all other teams,” the former Pakistan skipper added.
INZAMAM UL-HAQ PREDICTED THAT INDIA WILL BE REWARDED FOR PICKING THE EXTRA BOWLER