“Tighten your screws, whether it’s Ravindra Jadeja’s batting or team combination” – Irfan Pathan on importance of World Cup warmup games

Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan has stressed the importance of Team India’s warmup games ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup. The 38-year-old wants the hosts to make the most of their warmup games against England and the Netherlands.

The former pacer stressed that Ravindra Jadeja needs to deliver with the bat. He added that the Men in Blue must come up with the right combination and pull up their socks in the death overs in both departments for the marquee ICC event. Pathan [15:00] told Star Sports:

“Tighten your nut bolts, that’s the main reason behind practice games. You have two warmup games there you can tighten your screws whether it’s Ravindra Jadeja’s batting or team combination. Test yourself, especially in the last few overs.”

The World Cup warmup matches are scheduled to be played in Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram on September 30 and October 3, respectively.

The statement came after Jadeja failed to deliver with the bat against Australia in the third and final ODI. The left-handed batter scored 35 runs off 36 balls, but India lost the game by 66 runs.

Since 2022, Jadeja has scored 225 runs in 14 innings at an average of 16.07 without a single half-century.

Former South Africa cricketer Dale Steyn further added that the players should prevent any injuries in the practice games. He told the same show:

“The key thing is to get your players out of these practice games uninjured. That's the big scare: no injuries, no broken fingers, nothing stupid, no little hamstrings, etc.”

Meanwhile, former Pakistan speedster Waqar Younis stressed that the players should get acclimatized to the conditions and work on their weaknesses. He told the host broadcaster:

“Work on your weaknesses.”

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“There is no replacement for experience” – Piyush Chawla on Ravichandran Ashwin vs Axar Patel’s debate for World Cup

Piyush Chawla, who won the 2011 World Cup along with Ravichandran Ashwin, has picked the latter as his first-choice player over Axar Patel in India’s squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup.

The 34-year-old said that Axar Patel is the first choice for the team management and selectors but Ashwin’s experience is vital in the marquee ICC event.

Chawla [13:30] told Star Sports:

“It will depend on Axar’s fitness because he was a first-choice player if he can recover from injury, but if he doesn’t get better, then I think they will go Ashwin. Ashwin has the experience, and especially the way he has bowled against Australia in the first two ODIs, he showed that there is no replacement for experience.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator continued:

“There was a lot of question, but the way he bowled was excellent to watch. Both Mohali and Indore had flat wickets, but he bowled and picked up wickets. He made a difference in the games.”

Comparing Axar vs Ashwin's stats ahead of World Cup:

Axar, who got injured in the Asia Cup 2023, has scalped 59 wickets in 54 ODIs at an economy rate of 4.54. With the bat, he has scored 481 runs in 34 innings at an average of 20.04, including two half-centuries.

Ashwin, on the other hand, has picked up 155 wickets in 115 ODIs at an economy rate of 4.95. He, however, has played just four ODIs in the last six years, including the recently concluded Australia tour of India and India tour of South Africa (January 2022).

Against Australia, the 37-year-old scalped three wickets in the second match after managing a solitary dismissal in his comeback game after 21 months.

As far as batting is concerned, Ashwin has scored just 707 runs in 63 innings at an average of 16.44, including one half-century. The right-handed batter, however, is a handy lower-order batter with five tons and 14 half-centuries in Tests.