India are under a lot of pressure after their 76-run defeat against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad last Sunday. Team India was criticized for choosing Washington Sundar in place of team vice-captain Akshar Patel. The selection was made due to the Proteas having three left-handed players in the squad in Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton and David Miller.
Ahead of the next match against Zimbabwe, cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has called out Gautam Gambhir for over-dependence on Washington Sundar. He sarcastically said that this all-rounder has become the solution to every problem, be it with bat or ball.
‘Looks like Gautam Gambhir has an all-in-one solution to everything’- Sanjay Manjrekar
However, despite the matchup, Sundar was forced to bowl just one over after conceding 11 runs in the first over. Manjrekar also criticized the decision to send Sundar higher up the batting order ahead of in-form Shivam Dubey, Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh.
Sanjay Manjrekar, speaking on CricketNext, said, “Kailash Jeevan, there used to be a medicine by that name at that time. If you had a headache, you used to apply it. If you had a stomach ache, you used to take it. It was an all-in-one solution. It seems even Gautam Gambhir has an all-in-one solution for everything, Washington Sundar.”
“If there is a batting problem, Washi is the answer. If there is a bowling problem, he is the answer. He was promoted to sixth or seventh in the order today, and Rinku… it was too much.”
Indian batsmen are unable to perform well under pressure
Sanjay Manjrekar also pointed out that despite losing early wickets, the Indian batsmen were not taking any responsibility nor were they planning any calculated attacks as South Africa had done when their score was 20/3. Chasing 188 runs, the Men in Blue were all out for 111 runs.
Axar Patel has been performing well with the ball in the middle overs and his record against left-handed batsmen has also been good. However, he was not in the team. The all-rounder will return to the side against Zimbabwe, with Chevron having five right-handed batsmen in the squad and keeping in mind the big square boundaries in Chennai.
Will Sanju Samson be fit for Rinku Singh?
India may also field Sanju Samson as they have a lot of left-handers in the middle and Rinku Singh is heading back home due to a family emergency. Samson can be fielded at number 3 to open with Ishan Kishan and then Suryakumar Yadav can bat at number 4 depending on the circumstances.
After the loss to South Africa, India are now third in the Group 1 table in the Super 8 stage. They still have two matches left, the second being against West Indies in Kolkata on March 1.
To qualify for the semi-finals with either the Windies or the Proteas, India will have to win both the games by big margins. However, if South Africa wins all its remaining matches, only two wins will enable India to qualify for the last four. It will be a great and exciting week of cricket for the fans.
Also read: Rinku Singh returns home in the middle of T20 World Cup
