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By Swarnali Saha
On the eve of the series-opening first T20I against New Zealand in Wellington, a young Indian batting unit minus Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli tested their muscles. On Thursday, stand-in captain Hardik Pandya, wicketkeeper-batsmen Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, batters Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, and all-rounder Deepak Hooda were all spotted practicing heavy shots. The BCCI shared a video of India's net session, in which nearly all of the batters hit lofted shots, suggesting that the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand might signal a much-needed change in India's batting strategy.
Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer's no-look big hits were the most attractive of the many shots. Iyer and Samson, who were both overlooked for the T20 World Cup, were seen batting on the training wickets at the Basin Reserve.
Iyer was seen hitting no-look sixes in the video, while Samson executed the shot twice - once over the square leg, and the second time closer toward the long leg. The shots were also praised by Indian cricketers and support staff.
TICK..TICK..BOOM ????????
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 17, 2022
All charged up for the #NZvIND T20I series opener#TeamIndia ???????? pic.twitter.com/AsNSTeMqq8
In the World Cup, India's batting approach looked conservative, especially in comparison to eventual winners England's swashbuckling cricket, which many think is the new way to play the 20-overs format.
"In the T20 format, you are required to play with that freedom, with that fearless attitude," Laxman, substituting head coach Rahul Dravid who has been rested after India's World Cup campaign, told reporters. "But at the same time, it's important to assess the condition and situation and play to fulfill the needs of the team."
England's T20 success, according to Laxman, underlined the importance of having multi-dimensional players, especially bowlers who can bat.
"It's already been proven in T20 cricket that more number of bowlers who can bat adds depth to the batting and it allows a lot of freedom to the batsmen to go out and express themselves.
"That's the need of the format and I'm sure more and more teams will try to get that into their selection process," added the former test stalwart.
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