CHENNAI: AUSTRALIA'S Glenn McGrath has batted for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in India's 50-over World Cup squad in 2027. "You look at those two players you mentioned," he told reporters during an event at the MRF Pace Foundation in the city on Monday. We saw the IPL, how well he (Kohli) did. In recent tournaments, he's still scoring plenty of runs. Rohit, you know, in respect to one-day cricket, he's probably one of the best one-day batters of all time. He's got three double 100s, no other other player has done that."
But he caveated that by saying it has to come down to other factors. "It comes down to individuals," the pace ace said. "Their thought-processes, their mental state. Twelve months is still a fair way away. There's a lot of cricket to be played. As you mentioned, they've been playing a lot of cricket. So, yeah, there's still plenty of time. So, depends on who's going to be there. The senior players, whether they're aiming to be there, which I'm sure they are if they're still playing now. So, yeah, there's still time. But you need to start the process (of who are all the players you want keeping in mind the conditions," the multiple-time World Cup winner added.
VVS Laxman, who has doubled up as coach of the men's team on a few occasions, was again in the dugout with the players during their 3-0 win over Zimbabwe. There's a feeling that there ought to be space for somebody like a Laxman within the senior coaching set-up on a full-time basis. Where does McGrath stand on this issue?
"I think that's up to him," he said. "If that's what VVS wants, we'll see what happens. What the board (BCCI) wants. It depends on Laxman himself. Whether that's what he wants to do. And then the powers to be," said McGrath. "He was a pretty relaxed player. When he's in the zone, he was as good as anyone. So, I think attitude and mindset, very strong. The times I've spoken to him since then, he's still very strong. Knows what he wants. Completely up to him. If that's what he wants, then good luck to him," the Aussie added.
McGrath was somebody who used to manage his workload when he was an active cricketer. These days, seamers are not able to strike that balance. What does he say about the likes of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah? "Both Bumrah and Pandya are quality players who can bowl both in powerplay and death," he said. "Yes I'm aware that they have been injury prone. They need to take care of themselves and should have proper work load management from now on till the World Cup. They can be used in short spells in the games in the lead up to the world and even the World Cup itself as they bring lot of value and experience to the table,'' he said.
Lastly, he said he was impressed with the likes of Vasudev Prasad Singh (Bihar) and Abhishek Moond (Rajasthan), two seamers training at the foundation.
