Former wicket keeper batsman and an integral member of the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad, Robin Uthappa, believes…
Sanju Samson file image. (Photo: Twitter/@senthil__kumar)
Former wicket keeper batsman and an integral member of the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad, Robin Uthappa, believes the time is right for a new breed of India players to be given a chance to rise.
Players like captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Dinesh Karthik, among others, are closer to the end of their careers.
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In the last semi-final of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, England beat India by 10 wickets at the Adelaide Oval to go to the final, ending India’s deep run in the tournament. At the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Pakistan will square off against Jos Buttler’s side.
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Uthappa, who played a key role in helping India to their only T20 World Cup title in 2007, said a host of batters with little international experience should be given more opportunities to earn a spot in the eleven ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup being hosted jointly by the West Indies and the United States.
“There’s certainly room for youngsters now,” Uthappa wrote in his column for ICC. “There are a few gaps to fill in T20 cricket as far as finishers are concerned and they may have to look to the future in that sense,” opined the veteran cricketer, who also had a long stint with IPL side Chennai Super Kings.
Uthappa said he would like to see Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi be given more opportunities. The duo is among the highest scorers in the most recent edition of the Indian Premier League.
“I’d love to see Sanju Samson and Rahul Tripathi in this side. They are both very exciting, very good young players,” said Uthappa.
On the bowling front, Uthappa wants to see inexperienced bowlers be given more opportunities ahead of the next T20 World Cup, although he doesn’t expect drastic changes in the team profile prior to the start of the 50-over World Cup in India next year.
“On the bowling side, I’d like to see Umran Malik and Deepak Hooda get an opportunity,” he noted. “That said I don’t think there will be too many changes in personnel for the 2023 Cricket World Cup on home soil,” he said.
(inputs from IANS)
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