Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that India’s home series loss against New Zealand is not a “big deal” as, according to him, the importance of ODI cricket, except for the ICC World Cup, has reduced.
Speaking in a video shared by him on Instagram, as quoted by Hindustan Times, Manjrekar said: “India losing to New Zealand in the ODI series recently, no big deal. Honestly, in 50-over cricket today, what really matters is the World Cup, not even the Champions Trophy, because if you try and remember the last three Champions Trophy winners, you’ll struggle to remember those. But World Cup, you’ll remember each winner from the time the tournament started.”
India lost their second ODI series among the last three they have played. India managed to defeat Australia only in the third match when the series was already decided. The ‘Men in Blue’ then won the following series against South Africa by 2-1. In the recently concluded series against New Zealand, India started well by winning the first match but lost the next two games to lose the series.
Manjrekar suggested that the Indian team should use bilateral series as preparation for the World Cup.
“So yes, if you want to have your setbacks and your poor performances, get it out of the system now in time for the next World Cup. You’ve qualified for the World Cup. So these bilateral series are scheduled, but they’re mostly, I would say, warm-up games, and one shouldn’t read too much into it,” he added.
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