T20 World Cup 2024: Sanjay Manjrekar picks India’s best batter so far

Team India. (Source – Akshar Patel)

Sanjay Manjrekar has picked Team India’s best batter so far in the T20 World Cup 2024 as the Men in Blue cruised into the Super Eight stage. Rohit Sharma and Co. are one of the unbeaten teams in the group-stage with wins against Ireland, Pakistan and the USA. Their last game against Canada was abandoned without a ball bowled due to the wet outfield.

All of India’s league matches were played in the USA and the batters had a dull outing due to the sluggish nature of the pitch. Senior batters like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were expected to play a crucial role with the bat but both struggled to find runs. The Indian skipper scored a crucial half-century against Ireland although he failed in the next two matches. Meanwhile,  Kohli managed only five runs in three innings, including a golden duck against USA.

While batting stalwart Kohli’s change in batting position to an opener did not yield the desired results, Rishabh Pant’s promotion to No. 3 worked well. In fact, the keeper-batter, who had a strong IPL 2024 campaign, is currently India’s top scorer in the tournament with 96 runs

‘What a brilliant move it has turned out to be’ – Manjrekar on Pant’s promotion 

Former India cricketer Manjrekar said that he did not expect Pant to bat at No. 3. He acknowledged that promoting Pant up the order was a brilliant move from the team management. The southpaw usually bats at No. 4 or 5, but India experimented with him in the top-order during their warm-up match against Bangladesh.

“They (team management) want more and more impact players, at every position down the order and Rishabh Pant, I didn’t expect him to be batting at No. 3, and what a brilliant move it has turned out to be, starting from that warm-up game against Bangladesh, when Samson and Rohit Sharma took some time to get used to the surface,” Manjrekar was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

Furthermore, the cricketer-turned-commentator said Pant has been India’s best batter in the ongoing World Cup so far. With Pant coming at one down, India got a left-handed option in their top six, which Manjrekar noted was a missing element for the team in the 2023 ODI World Cup.

“Pant has showed his class. He has been India’s best batter in this tournament so far, and on a difficult pitch, and that is Rishabh Pant’s class. That they gave him the No. 3 slot also ensured that India don’t have six right-handers like they had in that 50-over World Cup and the only left-hander India had was Jadeja at No. 7,” the 58-year-old added.