The 2021 ICC T20 World Cup is scheduled between October-November in India, but fans and cricket experts have started discussions regarding the home team’s probable squad for the 12-nation tournament.
Sharing his views on the same, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar said that the selectors must pick India’s best squad for the marquee event.
“One thing I would like to clarify here is that it is not just about picking youngsters. It is about picking capable players, you are talking about the Indian cricket team, age should not be criteria. It is about what you are able to deliver and that is what matters, not age. If somebody is able to perform and may not be a young cricketer, but if you are able to perform you should be playing for India,” Tendulkar told ANI.
“Talking about youngsters, if you are able to perform then he rightfully deserves it. But if he is not able to perform, then maybe there are options you can look at. It is just not about age, it is a misconception that you should promote youngsters. I feel we should be picking our best 11. We should be picking our best 14-15 member squad and the best balance is known to the selection committee and it should be left to them,” he added.
After their stellar performances in the IPL and domestic circuit, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav recently made their international debut against England.
Both the batsmen justified their selections by smashing quickfire half-centuries against the top-ranked opponent. While Kishan hit 32-ball 56 on his debut in the second T20I, Suryakumar scored 57 off 31 balls in the fourth game of the five-match series, which India won by 3-2.
Tendulkar believes that facing top-quality bowlers like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes in the IPL has prepared the youngsters for stern challenges at the highest level.
“As far as Suryakumar and Ishan are concerned, they both have done really well, they have not looked out of place at all, and there is a reason for that. They played against all these guys a number of times. Yesterday, one of the commentators said that Surya has played against Archer and Stokes like as good as playing against Rajasthan Royals.
“For us, when I went to Pakistan and Australia, I was playing all those bowlers for the first time and that was at international level, so here the beauty is that they have played against top bowlers in the IPL and then playing against them for India, it is a big difference, you know what to expect from them and that is what has happened. That is the beauty of our structure and we can noticeably see that our bench strength is really good,” Sachin concluded.
The Indian players will begin their preparations for the forthcoming T20 World Cup through the IPL 2021, starting April 9.
