Mumbai, March 3
The defending champions, India, are set to clash with England for the third consecutive time in a Men's T20 World Cup semi-final when they take the field on Thursday at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and the former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes that having a player like 'Will Jacks batting at number seven is a plus for England'.
"He is on a roll, and sometimes you have a tournament where everything is going right for you. Even with the bat, he is scoring handy runs for his team down the order. To have somebody like him batting at number seven is a real plus for England," Sunil Gavaskar said during a media interaction ahead of the DP World Celebrity Golf Event to create awareness on the CHAMPS Foundation.
Will Jacks is having a dream campaign in the ongoing World Cup, having won four Player of the Match awards for his side. He has equalled the former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson's record for most POTM awards in a single edition (four in the 2012 edition).
Jacks has made 191 runs in the tournament in seven innings with an average of 63 and a strike rate of 176. He has hit 14 fours and 12 sixes so far in the tournament.
Gavaskar compared Jacks with Indian all-rounder Shivam Dube and said, "It's just like having Shivam Dube. What we saw in India's match against the West Indies, Dube came and hit two boundaries in one over to put the pressure off (from his team).
Jacks has also taken seven wickets in this tournament while bowling part-time off-spin. However, the former India cptain shrugged off the possibility of Jacks posing any big threat to the Indian batting lineup, which is heavily occupied with left-hand batters.
"If there is a turn in the Wankhede pitch, he could be a handful. So, maybe how Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav or Hardik Pandya will handle him is going to be a key feature," said the 76-year-old.
Gavaskar stressed that Indian right-hand batters need to do more batting against Jacks to tackle him.
"Maybe he might not get to bowl too many deliveries to the left-handers in the team, whether it is Abhishek, Tilak, Dube or someone from down the order. The right-handers have to do more batting against him," said Gavaskar.
Gavaskar, in association with DP World, will host the DP World Celebrity Golf Event, a charity initiative that will bring together some of the biggest names in Indian and international sport, in Mumbai on Friday.
The event aims to create awareness of the CHAMPS Foundation (Caring, Helping, Assisting, Motivating, Promoting Sportsperson), founded by Sunil Gavaskar, which supports former Indian international athletes facing financial hardship and medical challenges.
- ANI
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