Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has warned Pakistan cricket team ahead of T20 World Cup 2024 clash against India at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, June 9. Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar said that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will have to do some work on the pitch of the newly-constructed Nassau County Stadium in New York, which is hosting ICC T20 World Cup matches
The stadium is hosting eight games in this tournament, including three of India’s home matches against Ireland , Pakistan and USA .Sanjay Manjrekar further made a bold claim that Hardik was feeling pressure from outside while playing for Mumbai this season but things have changed since he donned the Indian jersey for the T20 World Cup.
Sanjay Manjrekar on Indian cricket team chances in WT20
For the Indian team, the campaign begins on June 05 when they will square off against Ireland. All of the members of the Indian team have already reached New York, where they will take on Bangladesh in a warm-up clash ahead of the marquee event. As the tournament nears, experts and former cricketers have contemplated the team’s strongest XI. As Sanjay Manjrekar picked his XI, there was no place for Yashaswi Jaiswal in the team.
Manjrekar went with Rishabh Pant at the No. 4 spot, ahead of Sanju Samson, despite the fact that the latter has been in a better run of form. Sanjay Manjrekar also has sent stern warning to the Pakistan team led by Babar Azam ahead of their marquee clash vs arch rivals India on June 9 at New York.
Sanjay Manjrekar warns Babar Azam and Co. ahead of IND vs PAK T20 World Cup clash
Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has warned Babar Azam-led Pakistan ahead of the T20 World Cup clash between India and Pakistan. Manjrekar reckons that given the tricky pitch in New York, India have a much better batting unit than Pakistan to dominate the conditions. He believes that the pitch is tailor-made for players like Virat Kohli, who can rotate the strike.
Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo:
“If the pitch stays the same like Sri Lanka vs South Africa, it would benefit India more. They can easily beat Pakistan because Indian batters have the technique to survive. Ones and twos are Virat Kohli’s game. In such conditions, Pakistani batters struggle a bit.”
Pakistan recently lost a T20I series 0-2 in England. Before the England tour, the Men in Green lost a T20I in Ireland, who are also part of Group A in the T20 World Cup. They also lost the T20I series in New Zealand 1-4 (under Shaheen Afridi’s captaincy in January). The Babar Azam-led, however, finished as runners-up in 2022 T20 World Cup.
Sanjay Manjrekar explains why India are favorites against Pakistan in T20 World Cup
Sanjay Manjrekar also explained why India are favorite against Pakistan. The 58-year-old pointed out that the Men in Green lack proper profiles in their bowling unit to pose a significant threat to India’s world-class batting unit. The cricketer-turned-commentator said:
“Pakistan’s bowling is also not like – hit the deck, good length. Haris Rauf might do that otherwise pace and swing as Arshdeep does, similarly, Shaheen Afridi will bowl. If there’s the same pitch, India’s work will only get easier because batting will counter that challenge much better.”
No Pakistan batters managed a half-century in their recent two T20Is in England. They would hope for an improved performance with the bat against the USA in their opening game at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas to gain momentum ahead of the India-Pakistan clash.
Meanwhile, Indian players will look to consolidate after Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav impressed in the warmup game. On the contrary, Rohit Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Shivam Dube will look to deliver after they failed against Bangladesh in the warmup fixture.
The India-Pakistan high-octane clash will be played at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, June 9.