By Abhishek Roy, IANS
Bangalore : India should discreetly use the experience of Twenty20 cricket in one-day internationals (ODIs), feels off-spin legend Erapalli Prasanna.
“Twenty20 is too short. The match is over before a captain thinks of making a tactical change. But since India are now the Twenty20 world champions they should use the experience discreetly in the one-dayers to get the best out of the shortest version of the game,” Prasanna told IANS in an interview at his residence.
“The players should learn how to score more runs in the first 20 overs in ODIs. And since the Twenty20 is not a bowler friendly game, it forces bowlers to be more disciplined in line and length and this can be a huge advantage in ODIs,” he said.
The legendary spinner added that since the Twenty20 version is heavily tilted in favour of batsmen, it would be interesting to see how the bowlers counter the challenge in the coming days.
“I am eagerly waiting to see how the bowlers counteract the stiff challenge from the batsman in the shortest version of the game. I am sure the bowlers will develop some tricks.”
Prasanna said that India cannot rest on the laurels of Twenty20 success but should look beyond. He felt that since not many Twenty20 matches will be played, the win at the World Championships will soon become a thing of the past.
“The ongoing tour of Australia and the forthcoming Pakistan series will be a real challenge to the young guys who did the country proud by winning the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa,” he said.
On new Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Prasanna said: “It is too early to comment on his captaincy.
“This was his first match as captain and I think he should be given more time before we judge him. It is also up to him how he utilises the presence of three former captains (Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid) in the team,” he said.
The spin wizard, now one of the directors of the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), added a note of warning that the ability and talent of the young players who are basking in the glory of the Twenty20 win should be judged on their performance in Test cricket.
“Do you think someone who loves life in the fast lane will love the same life when the pace slows down?” he asked.
“Test cricket is exactly like that since it reduces the pace of the game. For me Test cricket is real cricket and the quality of the young guys should be judged on their performance in the longest version of the game,” added Prasanna.