Irfan Pathan plays down IPL performance as direct T20 World Cup selection crtiterion

Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan opined that the player’s recent form in the ongoing IPL, should not be enough for their direct entry into India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024.

Irfan drew reference to India’s squad selection during the 2007 edition of the competition and explained how the experience might have the upper hand over recency when it comes to selecting the best squad for a major tournament like the T20 World Cup.

The ongoing IPL season has seen many uncapped players such as Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag impress Indian cricket fans and greats alike, with their brilliance with the ball or the bat.

With the squad announcement set to take place by May 1 as per the sources, the speculation is ripe around names that will finally cut the tournament set to begin on June 1.

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Star players like Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah have seemingly sealed their place in the World Cup squad led by Rohit Sharma, on top of some sensational performances in IPL 2024. However, the rest of the names have made way for loads of debates amongst fans and former cricketers, while some argue about whether IPL form should be taken into consideration from a broader perspective, when it comes to building a balanced squad.

Speaking at a show for Star Sports, Irfan Pathan explained how the Indian selectors will not fixate themselves on recent form, especially in IPL 2024, when they sort down names for the T20 World Cup.

“Just because some players are performing well in the IPL, it doesn’t mean they should automatically be selected. In the IPL, there are always one or two uncapped bowlers who can be easily smacked due to small grounds and flat pitches. However, international cricket is a different beast altogether. You’ll have five bowlers, each with a significant number of matches under their belt before entering the World Cup, bringing in tons of experience,” Irfan said.

Irfan, who was also part of India’s title-winning T20 World Cup squad in 2007, reflected on how the then squad had also been picked based on both recent form and experience.

“Let’s rewind to 2007. This is a myth that India won that World Cup with a young team. No, boss, we had experience. Harbhajan Singh had six years of experience. Virender Sehwag had six years of experience. Yuvraj Singh had five to six years of experience. I have four years of experience. Mahendra Singh Dhoni had four to five years of experience, he debuted in 2004.

About 90% of the squad had proper three to six years of experience. And then we went into the World Cup, and we won the World Cup. A lot of people say otherwise, that we won the World Cup with a young team. Yes, age-wise we were young, but experienced,” Irfan added.

With Rohit Sharma and BCCI selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar having reportedly met for a discussion about the possible squad, the anticipation has reached sky-high for the team, which will be battling for India’s long-desired ICC trophy since 2013.