It has been nearly three years since India lost the World Cup 2019 semi-final. The collapse in run chase of 240 is still a topic of discussion. India’s World Cup 2011 ‘Player of the series’ -- Yuvraj Singh – slammed the selectors for picking Vijay Shankar out of nowhere. Also, he talked about the inexperience in the side that was considered one of the hot favourites to lift the trophy.
"When we won the World Cup (2011), we all had a set position to bat. I felt 2019 World Cup; they didn't plan it well," Yuvraj told Sanjay Manjrekar on Sports18's show 'Home of Heroes'.
Yuvraj compared the batting order of 2019 to that of 2003 World Cup when India reached the final under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly. The southpaw gave a few examples as well.
Shankar’s selection in the squad ahead of Ambati Rayudu was heavily criticised at the time. On the other hand, Yuvraj has backed Pant as someone who can get the legend’s status in the future. But, the 40-year-old felt that Pant was too inexperienced to be batting at that position.
"They got Vijay Shankar to bat at 4 with just 5-7 ODIs, then they replaced him with Rishabh Pant, who had played 4 ODIs. When we played the 2003 World Cup, Mohammad Kaif, (Dinesh) Mongia and I had already played 50-odd ODIs."
Yuvraj went ahead and criticised the batting order in T20 World Cup 2021 as well. The Virat Kohli-led side was knocked out of the tournament at group stage after losses to New Zealand and Pakistan. As India’s batting lineup faltered against the big teams, Yuvraj compared the middle-order batters’ positions when they play in Indian Premier League (IPL).
"Our middle-order (batsmen) in T20 bats higher in franchise cricket. That is where we lacked in the last T20 World Cup," he pointed out.
The upcoming major ICC event is the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia. It is yet to be seen how many players from the 2021 edition make it to the T20I squad.
