Former Indian cricketer, Harbhajan Singh opined that India need an unmitigated overhaul in their approach to play T20I cricket. The 42-year-old is currently based in Abu Dhabi as part of Delhi Bulls for the T10 league and in an exclusive interview with Sports Today he spells out why things are going awry for the Indian team in T20 cricket.
It has been a decade and a half since the inaugural T20 World Cup which a green Indian team won under the leadership of young skipper MS Dhoni. Harbhajan emphasised the need to bring changes to the team that is long overdue. He remarked that the Indian management needs to be configured according to the up-to-date T20 cricket that should only include coaches who have personal experience with the fast-paced format of the game.
The change as per the former cricketer will pay dividends in the run-up to the T20 World Cup in 2024 which may take not only split captaincy but split management as well.
When asked for his thoughts on the split coaching and who he sees as India's next coach, he stated, "Yes, I think if you want to make progress in T20I cricket where you need a separate captain for T20I you then need a different coaching staff for it in my opinion, I think that's a very crucial aspect because the ones who have played this format such as Ashish Nehra or Wasim Jaffer even though he hasn't played T20 much, he still is around as a coach with other teams, so bringing that kind of attitude towards this format is very important and Ashish Nehra is a proven coach who did well as a coach so I think the one who has just resigned from this format understands T20 better."
He further added "If they add Rahul for this role that will be beneficial for the team too but if you are treating this format separately then why not go for someone like Ashish Nehra with young staff and a young team.”
He hazarded that Hardik Pandya could be India's next captain for T20I cricket.
"Hardik Pandya could bet the captain while heavyweights such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma can play and focus on ODI and Test cricket and whenever you need them they will turn up so the preparation for two years should be in gear from now on."
When asked about what he made of India's T20 campaign at the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia and what went wrong in the semi-final, he said it is food for thought that India has not won a T20 World Cup since 2007 and India need to change its mentality to play T20 cricket.
"I think overall we have to look hard that since 2007 we have not been able to win the World Cup, somewhere the mentality needs to change and due to which cups are won only when a team plays with unity, we saw the way England played and even New Zealand even though they are not famous for it but they play with unity and they appear as if that they will turn the game in their favour from any situation. So we have to play T20 cricket the way it's supposed to be played so I think for that the mentality needs a shift because in terms of quality of players I don't think anyone else has better players than ours but obviously, even if we are still not able to win, the biggest reason is the mentality."
When asked whether the team needs a change in approach and possibly management too, he replied:
'I think the overall approach needs to change and play the format like it should be played, that if in the first six overs if you are batting you must have at least 60 runs and if you lose two wickets in the process while doing so you have players like Suryakumar in the backend and Hardik Pandya but if you start slowly then you add pressure on SKY and also on Hardik Pandya to deliver efficiently which becomes difficult to hit the ball from the first delivery because some days you do well then people praise but some days you don't then you are called irresponsible for the rash shot so we must cash in on those six overs first."
When asked about what he thinks of players like Prithvi Shaw and Sanju Samson who didn't get a chance in the T20I series against New Zealand, he stated, "Yes look these players are good we have seen that they have the potential to play this format (T20) and I think in the coming two years the preparation should be such that you have a large pool of players and whichever player you bring with you they play and win matches for you. It should not be like you play them in two games and drop them afterwards, whatever player you give an opportunity to you must play them in 8-10 games so he can prove his mettle so I feel Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson and Kuldeep Yadav they are also given very few opportunities."
“I really liked the spin duo, Chahal and Kuldeep, I don't understand what happened later that the two never played again together when they had taken the cricketing world by storm but I think we need to gather the thoughts regarding who your wicket-takers are and you need to bring them who are young and groom them just like RCB did with the left arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed who can bowl and is handy with the bat too so if you rope in such players who in two years will change the complexion of the game for India"
