Asia Cup 2022: "Some of the players who have not played regularly for the Indian team" - Sanjay Bangar on Rohit Sharma's biggest challenge
Some of the star Indian players have not played cricket on a regular basis ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2022. Former cricketer Sanjay Bangar feels this could be captain Rohit Sharma's biggest challenge at the continental tournament.
The tournament will be played in the UAE from August 27 to September 11. The Men in Blue will lock horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in their tournament opener on Sunday, August 28, in Dubai.
During an interaction on the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Bangar was asked about what he feels is the Indian skipper's biggest challenge heading into the continental tournament. He responded:
"Rohit Sharma's biggest challenge in this Asia Cup I feel is some of the players who have not played regularly for the Indian team because of different-different reasons - it could be fitness or like Virat Kohli took a break, he is also making a comeback. KL Rahul had gotten injured."
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Bangar added that Jasprit Bumrah's absence due to injury will pose another challenge for Rohit. The former Indian batting coach explained:
"Jasprit Bumrah is also not playing this tournament. So how he manages the bowling in Jasprit Bumrah's absence because Jasprit Bumrah is an extremely important element in India's bowling. So I feel these will be the small challenges in front of Rohit Sharma."
It’s a relief of other teams that Bumrah and Harshal aren’t playing this Asia cup!
Bumrah has been ruled out of the Asia Cup due to a back injury. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, opted out of the Indian team's recent tours of the West Indies and Zimbabwe. KL Rahul, meanwhile, returned to the Indian setup after a long break for the series against Zimbabwe but did not seem to be at the top of his game.
"They would have finalized their team for the World Cup" - Sanjay Bangar on India's expected takeaways from the Asia Cup
Sanjay Bangar was also asked about the likely biggest gain for the Indian team from the Asia Cup. He replied:
"The biggest takeaway for the Indian team from the Asia Cup will be that by the time the Asia Cup ends, they would have figured out their most probable playing 15, or they would have finalized their team for the World Cup, at least in their own heads."
Bangar pointed out that a multi-nation tournament like this is the best testing ground for Team India hopefuls. The cricketer-turned-commentator said:
"I feel that will be a huge takeaway because you get a lot of bilateral series but you rarely get a multi-nation tournament like this. So Asia Cup is a very good tournament and if the Indian team identifies their players by the time this tournament finishes, I feel that will be the biggest takeaway."
While the Indian team management and selectors might have already identified their squad for the T20 World Cup, the Asia Cup might help them in finalizing their first XI.
The biggest question mark might be in the seam-bowling department where Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan will be fighting it out for the third seamer's position behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Bumrah, assuming the latter will be fit for the global event.