West Indies tour: Sanjay Manjrekar calls for inclusion of ‘3 new batters and pacers’ in India’s Test line-up

India lost the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final to Australia by a whopping 209-run margin at The Oval, London, earlier this month. Having reached the WTC final for the second time in a row, India once again finished second (they lost to New Zealand in the summit clash of the inaugural cycle in 2021). India will now commence their campaign in the third cycle of the WTC with a two-match Test series versus West Indies in the Caribbean island, starting on July 12.

Prior to the Indian Test squad announcement by the BCCI selectors, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar shared his take on the team composition going forward. Manjrekar feels Indian selectors need to make some big decisions and should include at least three new batters and pacers in the mix, with many senior players looking out of touch, while the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, etc. remain injured.

‘About time we start rewarding the guys who are doing well in first-class cricket’

“The game changers for Australia in the WTC final – Steve Smith and Travis Head – don’t play a lot of T20 cricket. So we have to find guys who are not going to be fatigued or don’t have to make the adjustments from IPL to Test cricket. About time we start rewarding the guys who are doing well in first-class cricket. And not just runs. The selectors could look at players who have it in them to be future Test players and succeed in foreign conditions. I would like to see at least three new batters come into play in the picture and new fast bowlers,” Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.

The cricketer-turned-commentator further opined, “When it comes to batting, they just have to look at first-class performers and not just the amount of runs the player has scored. if you closely observe our domestic cricket then you will find players for No. 3, 4, 5 who has a decent defensive technique, has an appetite for runs and that’s your guy, that’s the guy to back.”

On the pace department, Manjrekar added, “Just a few months back I was taking pride in the depth that we have in our seam-bowling department and suddenly Bumrah is not fit. There are quite fit others like Prasidh Krishna so maybe for Test cricket, India need to create a new line of fast bowlers. Now you should look for specific test players. If somebody gets injured, we should have backups ready. Like Scott Boland. Came in straightaway and made an impact. We had to go back to Umesh Yadav which is not a good sign.”

India’s tour of West Indies will comprise two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is. It will be interesting to see if the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Umesh Yadav, etc. retain their spots or are replaced by the young guns. Meanwhile, even Virat Kohli’s Test numbers have been below par in recent years whereas Rohit and R Ashwin do not have age and fitness on their side.