Wellington: Former Indian team head coach Ravi Shastri on Thursday said that there is no problem in having a separate T20 captain and named star all-rounder Hardik Pandya as the ideal candidate for the post. In the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, Hardik will lead the team in the three-match T20 International series in New Zealand starting here on Friday.
“There is no problem in having a new captain for T20 cricket,” Shastri told reporters here ahead of the first T20 international. “There is so much cricket happening that it will never be easy for one player to play all three formats of the game,” he said. Shastri said, “If Rohit is handling the responsibility of captaincy in Tests and ODIs then there is no harm in having a new T20 International captain and if it is Hardik Pandya then so be it.”
Stand-in head coach VVS Laxman on Thursday said India will look to find T20 specialists as the team looks to improve after yet another World Cup debacle. Shastri said, “This is the way forward and VVS is absolutely right, they will look for experts, especially from the youth.” “That should be the mantra, identify two years from now and build a team that is going to be a great fielder and set roles for these youngsters who play fearless cricket without any pressure,” he added.
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Shubman Gill, Umran Malik, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson have been given a chance for the T20 Internationals against New Zealand while the senior players have been rested. Shastri feels the Indian team management needs to develop youngsters and work on the lines of England’s plan for white-ball cricket, which earned them the distinction of winning the ODI and T20 World Cups.
“This team will have the opportunity to carve out future players, match-winners and build on the England template,” he said. Shastri said, “After the 2015 World Cup, they (England) have identified the best players across formats of the game – be it T20 cricket or 50-over cricket. This means if there are some senior players, they will have to sit. And they took youngsters who were fearless and could adapt to the game.”
He said, “India has a wealth of sources and it can start from this tour itself. This is a young team and you can identify and enhance this team. After the advent of the Indian Premier League in 2008, several countries started their own T20 leagues, including Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), Pakistan Premier League (PSL) and Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
The Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) welcomes foreign players in the IPL but does not allow its active Indian players to play in these foreign leagues. England thrashed India by 10 wickets in the semi-finals, riding on the immense experience of captain Jos Buttler and opener Alex Hales in the BBL. After the loss to England, there were talks that BCCI should also allow its players to play in various T20 leagues happening around the world. But Shastri and former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan disagree.
Zaheer said, “I think there are many procedures for this. It’s not just about playing franchise cricket, it’s about going to different countries and learning things.” He said, “It is important and if BCCI conducts many tours then this procedure is followed. I don’t see any other reason why players should go and play in special tournaments.”
“You have a strong infrastructure, so why depend on others. We have a good way of getting good players, look at our ‘bench strength’. You can play with almost three teams and you can compete at any level.” Shastri also said, “There is enough domestic cricket to feed and give opportunities to all these players.”
“Also you get India A tour and other tours. So it is not needed, they are right by playing in IPL and focusing on domestic cricket, we also need to feed them domestic cricket in India. Both Zaheer and Shastri feel that the New Zealand tour is a good opportunity for fast bowler Umran Malik. (agency)