Sanjay Bangar hails Rohit Sharma for giving just 3 overs to Ravindra Jadeja in T20 WC 2024 group stage

Former India National Cricket Team coach Sanjay Bangar has showered rich praise on the skipper Rohit Sharma for not utilizing all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja much in the group stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024.

India played well and entered the Super 8 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup without any contribution from all-rounder Jadeja. He didn't take any wickets, score any runs, pick any catches, or inflict any run-outs for India.

Jadeja was part of the playing XI in the all three matches that India were able to play but skipper Rohit Sharma didn't trust him much with the ball and he instead preferred Axar Patel's spin-bowling.

Ravindra Jadeja was given just three overs by Rohit Sharma and he failed to bag any wickets for the team. The Indian captain completely neglected the all-rounder when they took the field to compete against the USA as he wasn't given even one over. That decision by Rohit Sharma shocked many as they felt that Jadeja is no longer the first-choice for the side as Axar Patel will be given preference from now on.

However, Ravindra Jadeja will most likely be given more opportunities with the ball in the Super 8 stage as the matches will be held in the West Indies where the pitches offer plenty of assistance to spinners.

He went to the bowler who was considered to be most effective - Sanjay Bangar on Rohit Sharma

Recently, Sanjay Bangar spoke about Rohit Sharma's rotation of bowlers in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Star Sports. He opined that Axar was preferred over Jadeja because of the extra bounce on the surface. He also showered rich praise on captain Rohit Sharma for not giving overs to Jadeja based on reputation and trusting Axar to get the job done.

"Credit to the team management that they used horses for courses. Why Jadeja wasn't really used and why Axar was used on a pitch which had a little bit of bounce? So that's where the answer lies. If there is extra bounce, Axar is obviously slightly taller. He hits the ball higher on the bat and you have to give credit to Rohit the captain, because he didn't really go by pedigree or reputation. He went to the bowler who was considered to be most effective or who were likely to be more effective on those surfaces," Bangar said on Star Sports ahead of India's first Super 8 clash against Afghanistan.

India fielded a combination of 3 pacers and 2 spinners in the matches played in the USA. That is most likely to be changed when they head towards West Indies as a pacer could be replaced by a spinner, which could be Kuldeep Yadav, who has undoubtedly been India's best white-ball spinner in the last few months.

While talking about Kuldeep Yadav's exclusion, Sanjay Bangar stated that the India team management is following West Indies' strategy and will be relying more on finger spinners.

"So, I think the Indian team's campaign has been pretty spot on. Let's hope that, in these conditions, finger spin is going to be effective. Because if you look at the West Indies team and they know these conditions better than any other team because they play so much cricket out here, are they using Akeal Hossein and Gudakesh Motie," Bangar concluded.