Ravi Shastri: Do you think a left-hander will make a difference at the top?

Is India’s ODI top six loaded with too many right-handers at the moment? Ex-head coach Ravi Shastri seems to think so and would like to see at least two left-handers in India’s top six for the ODI World Cup later this year.

Shastri told ‘The Week’ –

“You need to strike the right balance. Do you think a left-hander will make a difference at the top? It does not have to be opening, but in the top three or four. You have to weigh all those options. Ideally, in the top six, I would like to see two left-handers.” The World Cup is set to start on October 5.

Rishabh Pant, if he gets fit in time, will likely get his place back, but what are the other left-handed options? Shastri added -“You have Ishan Kishan. In the wicketkeeping department, you have Sanju [Samson]. But the left-handers, you have [Yashasvi] Jaiswal, Tilak Varma. There is enough left-handed talent that can replace any senior player at the moment.”

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Shastri frther said –

“There are so many youngsters. There is Jaiswal and, I might miss out a few here, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera. There is [Sai] Sudharsan, who played so well in the [IPL] final. There is Jitesh Sharma.” Shastri was also adamant that India needed to form a pool of youngsters and get them in the mix ahead of the World Cup.