IND vs WI: "New Batters Should Know How To...." - Pragyan Ojha Highlights Biggest Challenge For India
Published - 02 Aug 2023, 12:39 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:16 AM
Former spinner Pragyan Ojha opened up about how young Indian batters can improve their batting in international cricket, particularly in the 50-over format. Pragyan Ojha suggested that young batters should focus on learning how to pace their innings in ODI matches.
Team India experimented with their batting lineup in the recently concluded three-match ODI series against the West Indies. The visitors demoted Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the batting lineup during the first ODI, and they lost five wickets while chasing a below-par total of 114 runs.
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That Is The Biggest Challenge – Pragyan Ojha
During an interaction organized by Jio Cinema, Pragyan Ojha recalled the 2011 World Cup campaign and said that the players understood their roles well. However, he highlighted that injuries have brought new challenges to the current team.
“It is very important to address a few things. The batters who are new should know how to pace their innings — that is the biggest challenge I see now,” Ojha said as quoted by PTI.
“In 2011, India had players who knew exactly how to pace their innings and what their roles were. But because of so many injuries and changes, this is a different challenge which the Indian team is facing right now.”
“When you talk about 2011, most of them had played 70-80 odd games. (But) every time it will not be easy to have all senior players available. That is the reason why India is facing different challenges,” he added.
The Men in Blue rested Rohit and Virat for the second ODI, resulting in a low score of just 181 runs and they lost the match six wickets. However, they bounced back to win the final match by 200 runs and secure the series 2-1.
Pragyan Ojha believes that Indian spinners can play a vital role in the World Cup, given their experience in home conditions.
“When you look at the guys like Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel or maybe Yuzvendra Chahal, you have got two all-rounders and two quality spinners,” he further added.
“They have enough experience to exploit the conditions in India on the home soil, and they know what is to be done on these kind of pitches,” he concluded.
The upcoming edition of the ODI World Cup will be hosted by India in October and November later this year. The home team will be considered title favorites, having previously won the World Cup at home in 2011.
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