"The agenda should be to improve the bowling reserves" - Ajit Agarkar on India's roadmap following the T20 WC
Former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar believes improving the bowling reserves should be India's top priority following their unsuccessful campaign at the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE.
Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, the entire Indian bowling department looked toothless in their first two encounters against Pakistan and New Zealand, respectively. However, the unit made a comeback in their remaining three fixtures against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia. But it was too little too for the Virat Kohli-led side.
Ajit Agarkar, speaking after India's victory over Namibia by nine wickets, told ESPNcricinfo that India should refine its bowling department, especially the seamers. He said:
"I think the first agenda should be to improve the bowling reserves. First, they need to be identified. Maybe 3-4 bowlers, particularly in the seam department. The spinner kind of, you know, will come back, the guys not here - Chahal, Axar or perhaps Kuldeep Yadav - if he finds his form. But the seam bowling department is probably where they will look."
Named in the initial 15-member Indian squad, Axar Patel was replaced by Shardul Thakur just before the commencement of the World Cup. However, Yuzvendra Chahal's omission raised a few eyebrows among fans.
Kuldeep Yadav, the left-arm chinaman, was not in contention for the Indian team as he was recovering from his knee injury.
"India have work to do but fortunately it is not a major surgery" - Ajit Agarkar
The 43-year-old pacer underlined that the Men in Blue have a task on their hand to improve their white-ball cricket team. However, Agarkar opined that India has a variety of talented players to choose from. He told ESPNcricinfo:
"They have work to do, but fortunately, it is not a major surgery because Indian cricket has a lot of options at the moment. But there are probably a few slots that they need to look at. In the next couple of months against New Zealand and South Africa, we'll find out a bit more and we'll discuss a bit more."
India's next set of fixtures begin with the series against New Zealand at home from November 17. Both teams are set to compete in a 3-match T20I series before a 2-match Test series, which will start November 25. The series will also kick off the tenure of Rahul Dravid as head coach of the Indian cricket team.