Irfan Pathan feels India's bowling needs to be strengthened before ICC T20 World Cup 2024
"T20 cricket gives you the license to be a bit more aggressive with the bat and play with a fearless mindset," said Irfan Pathan.
Legendary Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels India should strengthen their bowling attack prior to the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup. The much-awaited tournament is stated to be contested in June in the West Indies and the USA.
Pathan stated that India usually does exceptionally well with the bat in T20I cricket. However, he spoke about why India should look into their bowling attack in the forthcoming ICC event while mentioning the Men in Blue's dismal outing in the 2022 tournament in Dubai.
"T20 cricket gives you the license to be a bit more aggressive with the bat and play with a fearless mindset. However, what I feel is more important with respect to India's performances in Dubai against Pakistan & in Australia in the semifinal against England, the bowling needs to be strengthened. Until we do that, we won't win big tournaments," Pathan told Star Sports.
"You need to have five proper wicket-taking bowlers and at least three-four of them should be able to bowl at any phase in the game, especially when a breakthrough is needed during a dangerous partnership. If we can find such bowlers, the World Cup isn't far away," he added.
Sunil Gavaskar feels all-rounders are crucial as well
Adding insights on Irfan Pathan's opinion on India's weakest areas, former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar stated that all-rounders can also play pivotal roles for their side. He believes that having a few backup options who can step in on days when some of the major bowlers are expensive is crucial to having a potent bowling attack.
"All-rounders are crucial as well. If you have a couple of batters in your top five who can roll the arm over, then it makes a lot of difference. This is such a format that a particular bowler will have a bad day and will be low on confidence. So you need someone to complete the quota of that bowler. While that part-time option can also be expensive, it at least gives the captain something to work with," Gavaskar said.
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