“I see Shardul coming in because India will always be concerned about batting depth” - Manjrekar weighs in on all-rounder's significance in ODI setup

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons all-rounder Shardul Thakur will be a key element in India’s ODI squad in the coming months as they build up to the World Cup.

According to Manjrekar, the Men in Blue will find it difficult to leave Thakur out of the playing XI because of their well-documented issues with batting depth.

India named their 17-member Asia Cup 2023 squad on Monday (August 21). While KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer were handed a much-awaited comeback, Thakur also retained his place in the team even as vice-captain Hardik Pandya remains the main all-rounder.

During a discussion on Star Sports/ESPN Cricinfo’s ‘Selection Day Live’ programme, Manjrekar was asked to pick the pacers he feels could feature in the ODI XI heading into the World Cup.

“Currently, obviously (Jasprit) Bumrah No. 1. In white-ball cricket, (Mohammed) Siraj No. 2. Then you have got (Mohammed) Shami and Shardul. So, if you have got a flat belter, expect your seam attack to be something like that,” he replied.

Elaborating on Thakur, Manjrekar added:

“I see Shardul coming in because India will always be concerned about the batting depth. I see that as the pecking order.”

The former plyer also backed the inclusion of Prasidh Krishna in the Asia Cup squad:

“I am glad Prasidh Krishna is back. He looked quite good. Very unique in the way he bowls with the new ball. If he bowls in Ahmedabad, he’s going to get a lot of bounce and he uses his height.

"Very rarely you see an Indian bowler use pace and bounce to make an impression,” Manjrekar commented.

Krishna, who had been out of international cricket for a year due to a lumbar stress fracture, made his comeback during the ongoing T20I series in Ireland.

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“Arshdeep is a player that I would have considered” - Tom Moody

Sharing his thoughts on India’s pace bowling line-up for the Asia Cup, former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody opined that he would have considered a left-arm pacer like Arshdeep Singh to add variety to the bowling attack.

“I just think that left-armer in the squad, if you’d have got that as an option is definitely worth considering. Arshdeep, I know he’s hasn’t played a lot of 50-over cricket for India, and he’s sort of been more recognized as a T20 specialist.

"But, if the surfaces are flat and if the grounds are going to be relatively high-scoring venues, suddenly that different angle of fast bowlers coming in at, if you are playing only one specialist spinner, can be very valuable," he said.

Moody continued:

“He’s also got recognized death skills. If I was looking for any point of difference in that squad, Arshdeep is a player that I would have considered,” Moody added.

While Arshdeep has featured in 33 T20Is in which he has claimed 50 scalps, he has only played three ODIs, where he's yet to claim a wicket.