Mahela Jayawardene, the former Sri Lanka cricketer, has opined that India’s squad is futuristic. He added that KL Rahul’s lack of games under his belt might be a concern. In the Cricket’s governing body review podcast, the legendary batter analyzed the Indian squad for the Asia Cup 2022.
He said that KL Rahul must get some game time to get back to form. The 45-year-old also added that Rishabh Pant has all the abilities to open the innings. Jayawardene added that India must use the Zimbabwe series to test their plans.
“India is always trying to bring that next generation of cricketers. The Zimbabwe tour is a good opportunity for those guys to get a hit out there. (On Pant opening the innings) It is an option, even though he hasn’t done much in domestic cricket. But he has the capacity to do that,” Jayawardene opined.
The veteran also opined on Virat Kohli’s form. The veteran cricketer was rested for the West Indies series and is also rested for the Zimbabwe series. Jayawardene termed Kohli’s slump to be an ‘unfortunate’ one. He added further that the Delhi-batter has all the tools to take the throne again.
Jayawardene said that Kohli’s class will always be permanent and he will sense the sweet smell of success very soon. “It is unfortunate what Virat [Kohli] is going through at the moment. But I think he is a quality player. It would have been a conversation that Rahul [Dravid] and the management would have had with Virat. I think there have been some very positive conversations,” he said.
The Colombo-born cricketer added that it is between India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan to win the Asia Cup 2022. He further opined that India and Pakistan might face each other in the finals of the Asia Cup 2022.
“One of those two (India and Pakistan) will be in the final. The advantage is probably between India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. For me, it will be one of those teams [winning the Asia Cup],” Jayawardene concluded.
