Exclusive | Abhishek Sharma played Rohit Sharma’s brand of cricket in IPL: MSK Prasad
Talking about T20 World Cup 2024, Prasad picked Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah as the key players for India
Former chief of the BCCI selection panel MSK Prasad has heaped praise on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opener Abhishek Sharma for playing a brand of cricket associated with India captain Rohit Sharma and backed him to play for India soon.
Left-handed Abhishek and his SRH opening partner Travis Head of Australia redefined T20 batting in the recently concluded IPL 2024.
Abhishek stood out by hitting the most sixes in this year’s IPL with 42 maximums and was 10th in the Orange Cap standings, scoring 484 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 204.21.
Indian youngsters who stood out in IPL
In an exclusive interview with The Federal, former India wicketkeeper-batter Prasad spoke about the Indian youngsters who caught his eye during IPL 2024.
“At the outset, kudos to BCCI, the IPL season went off extremely well. We saw some new highs this season. It was a very well-organised tournament and has thrown up some wonderful youngsters like Abhishek Sharma, who will be getting into the Indian team after the T20 World Cup. I am also thoroughly impressed with Riyan Parag, he looks calm, composed, and balanced. The other youngsters who impressed me are Mayank Yadav, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Ishan Porel, Sai Sudharsan,” Prasad said.
SRH's Abhishek Sharma (right) and Travis Head during IPL 2024. Photo: BCCI
“He (Abhishek) played with a purpose. The brand of cricket he played was very similar to how Rohit Sharma batted for India in the ICC World Cup 2023. It was selfless cricket, that is why I am thoroughly impressed with Abhishek. One quality that stood out was his ability to match and also outscore the likes of Travis Head, Heinrich Klaasen. The way Abhishek scored his quick half-centuries was unbelievable. Watching his progress for the last couple of years, he was much more in control of his batting in this IPL season,” he added.
Impact Player rule
With IPL 2024 witnessing a record 41 totals of 200-plus, many had attributed it to the Impact Player and several former cricketers have called for scrapping it. But Prasad feels such innovations are necessary for the evolution of the Twenty20 format.
“First of all, these high scores are due to the Impact Player rule. There has been a debate whether we should continue with it or not. Personally, I feel it should stay. The main reason for me to back this is the Twenty20 game has to evolve. The Impact Player is a new strategy and for teams, to succeed, have to think on how to counter it. For example, a player like Mayank Yadav has troubled batsmen with his sheer pace, and Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) bowlers dominated the entire IPL 2024. It all depends on the skillsets of the bowlers. Also, there have been low totals as well this year. So, Impact Player alone cannot be criticised for high scores,” the 49-year-old explained.
He continued, “I will back the Impact Player rule because it is throwing up a new challenge to the teams. For this season, the bowlers were given advantage to bowl two bouncers per over and those possessing pace have been able to take wickets. You have to make this T20 format challenging or it will slowly drift away and people might start thinking about T10 or T5. Over a period of time, Test cricket, ODIs have evolved.
"Who would have thought we would be playing with a white ball and black sightscreens? We have to make the game more interesting. In the 1983 World Cup final, we defended 183. Today, even 400-plus targets are not safe. The game is evolving with new rules. T20 cricket is already stagnating. The IPL is 17 years old now and you have to bring in new ideas to make the game more challenging as well as interesting.”
India's key players for T20 World Cup
On the Indian squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, Prasad said it is the “best available” team and felt Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma are among the six players who hold the key to India’s success. He said he wanted to see another finisher like Rinku Singh. “Overall, it is a good squad. However, the only addition I would have thought of was one more finisher – either Rinku Singh or any other batter. That is the only cause for concern for me. Apart from this, I feel this is the best available Indian squad for the T20 World Cup.”
With Rinku not getting enough chances with the champions KKR in IPL 2024, Prasad doesn’t feel that made the selectors to not pick him.
KKR's Rinku Singh celebrates with the IPL 2024 trophy. Photo: BCCI
“I don’t think that is the reason. The selectors wanted an extra spinner because of the conditions in the US and the Caribbean islands. Also, two of the spinners in the squad Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel can bat, making them all-rounders,” he said.
Prasad also highlighted Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson’s IPL form and his inclusion in the Indian team. “Sanju Samson has had a wonderful IPL which is a good sign for the Indian team. The inclusion of him shows that the selectors are convinced with his form, and his capability to play in an ICC event.”
He picked Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah as the key players for India.
When asked whether the Indian players would be down with fatigue after playing a two-month-long IPL, Prasad said no.
“Fatigue won’t be a factor for the Indian players in T20 World Cup. No Indian World Cup player featured in the IPL final. Hence they had almost a 10-day break to recover and recuperate. IPL is not just a domestic tournament; it is part of the international cricket calendar. IPL itself is an event of the magnitude of the World Cup,” he said.