Former Indian cricketer and selector Jatin Paranjape praised captain Rohit Sharma for playing aggressive cricket during the home Test series against Bangladesh, especially the Kanpur Test. The 52-year-old, who has represented Mumbai domestically, said the second Test of the series will be seen as an “inflection point” in the Indian team’s rich Test cricket history. India recently achieved a 2-0 series win against Bangladesh at home. In the Kanpur Test, Team India missed two days of action due to rain and a wet outfield after Bangladesh ended the first day at 107/3 in the first innings.
When Bangladesh started the fourth day with the same score, the match looked headed towards a draw with two days left and only the first innings being played. But Bangladesh were all out for 233 and then India scored some quick runs, scoring 285/9 and taking two Bangladesh wickets at the end of the fourth day. The next day, India bowled out Bangladesh for 146 runs and were leading by 94 runs. They got a target of 95 runs and achieved it easily.
Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the Delhi trials of the Indian Premier League (ISPL) season two, the selection chief in the competition said, “Ever since Rohit became the captain, the intent and DNA of the team has become attack-oriented. The captain himself Leading from the front, since the 2023 World Cup, we have seen our players attack the bowlers from the beginning. We have done the same in the T20 World Cup and the Kanpur Test. They have decided that their DNA is attacking. Their natural instinct has been to attack and they will not let up, I think this is a trailer of what we will see in Australia (during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy) later this year.”
“You will look at this (Kanpur Test) as the turning point for the Indian team in Test cricket. We have always been an attacking team. If you look at our batting, from Rohit to Ashwin, everyone has attack which is good for them. Comes first.” “They will play according to their natural instincts,” he said. It depends on how the Border Gavaskar Trophy will be. But I think this is how they will play in such situations in the future.”
“Yes. You will see it as the inflection point of the Indian team in Test cricket. We were always an attacking side. If you see our batting, from Rohit to Ashwin, everyone has an attack which is the first for them. They will play according to their natural instincts. BGT depends on how it turns out, but I think in future, they will play like this despite opposition.”
Speaking about the Mumbai cricket scene, Paranjape said that Prithvi Shaw is the most talented batsman in India.
Shaw, who last played for India in July 2021, has played five Tests, six T20Is and one ODI in his career so far. Although there was a lot of hype around him due to him being the youngest Test century on debut for India and being the winning captain of the 2018 ICC U19 World Cup, Shaw earned his place in the team due to players like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj. Lost. Gaikwad due to injuries, poor form, technical weaknesses etc.
“I think Prithvi Shaw is the most talented player in India. He will also be looking forward to the FC season with great expectations, because it is going to be huge for him. Shaw, Sarfaraz (Khan), Jaiswal and Iyer will be part of Mumbai’s There are players whose DNA is to attack, they will continue to play that way.”
Notably, Paranjape himself played for Mumbai, scoring 3,964 runs at an average of 46.09 in 62 first-class matches, including 13 centuries and 15 fifties, in 95 innings. His best score was 218.
Even though Sarfaraz became the first Mumbai player to score a double century in the Irani Cup, Paranjpe feels Rohit will continue with the current combination during the upcoming three-match home Test series against New Zealand and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia from October 16. Will stay. From 22nd November.
He said, “The hallmark of Rohit’s captaincy is that he maintains the formation consistently.”
After years of stellar performances on the domestic circuit, Sarfaraz made his much-awaited international debut during the Test against England this year. He scored 200 runs in his first three Test matches with three half-centuries. Despite being a part of the team, he was not a part of the playing eleven during the Bangladesh Test.
Regarding spin all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin, who won the ‘Player of the Series’ award against Bangladesh, Paranjpe said that his best years are ahead.
He concluded, “(His performance against Bangladesh) is nothing short of brilliant. He is a legend. He has written his name in the list of legends of Indian cricket. I think his best five years are ahead of us.” He’s really fit.”
He was awarded the ‘Player of the Series’ award for scoring 114 runs, which included a counter-attacking century, and taking 11 wickets in the first Test at home in Chennai.
The Indian all-rounder broke many records with both bat and ball and opened many milestones in the series. He equaled Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan and became the player with joint most ‘Player of the Series’ records with a total of 11.
In the Chennai Test, Ashwin counter-attacked in the first innings to score 113 runs and took six wickets in the final innings to help his team win the game.
This was the fourth time for Ashwin to score a century and take five wickets in a Test. In this matter, ahead of Ashwin is only England legend Ian Botham, who has managed to achieve this feat five times.
Also, this was Ashwin’s 37th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Now, he has tied with legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne for the joint second most appearances in the longest format of the game, five times. Ahead of Ashwin is only Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan, who has the record of taking five wickets 67 times.
Ashwin also crossed the mark of 750 international wickets and became the 12th and second Indian player in the world to do so.
The veteran player is considered one of the finest Test all-rounders of his generation, having scored 3,423 runs in 102 Tests and 123 innings at an average of 26.74 with six centuries and 14 fifties. His best score is 124. He has also taken 527 wickets at an average of 23.65, including 37 five-wicket hauls and eight ten-wicket hauls. His best bowling performance in an innings is 7/59.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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