The selectors picked a 15-member Indian squad for the global T20 tournament on Monday, September 12. Ashwin is one of three spinners selected, with Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal being the other two.
During an interaction on the Sports 18 show ‘Sports Over the Top’, Manjrekar was asked if he saw Ashwin fitting into the squad, considering he is neither the best fielder nor extremely handy with the bat. He replied:
Manjrekar was further asked if he expected Harshal Patel to make the squad after just recovering from an injury. He responded:
Harshal is among the four seamers picked in India’s T20 World Cup squad, alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. Mohammad Shami and Deepak Chahar have been named among the four reserves.
“He has got something special” - Sanjay Manjrekar on Arshdeep Singh’s selection in India’s squad
Manjrekar was further asked whether he feels it is right to take a risk with Arshdeep on the World Cup stage, to which he responded:
Manjrekar pointed out that the left-arm seamer merited selection based on his all-round abilities with the ball. The cricketer-turned-analyst explained:
Arshdeep bowled excellent final overs against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, although he couldn’t defend seven runs on both occasions. Considering Bhuvneshwar’s recent travails with the old ball, the Punjab pacer will likely compete with Harshal for Bumrah’s death-bowling partner’s role.
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