'No, boss, we had experience' - Irfan Pathan reminisces 2007 triumph to assert experience wins over age

Ahead of the impending squad selection for the T20 World Cup 2024, fans have been recommending their favourites to feature in the team. Thanks to the Indian Premier League 2024, many uncapped players are proving their mettle on the biggest stage. Many are drawing parallels with the Indian team that went on to win the 2007 T20 World Cup terming it as a young brigade. Former Indian pacer Irfan Pathan feels that the victorious batch was well-experienced rather than young.

The likes of Mayank Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, and Dhruv Jurel are indirectly contesting for the World Cup berth as fans can not keep calm over their performances. Several pundits have also flouted these youngster's names ahead of the team selection conundrum. Pathan feels that to contest and win a tournament such as the World Cup, a team needs experience more than anything. He gave examples of his fellow teammates from 2007 and highlighted the experience they carried.

“So the question you've been asking about, the youngsters being backed by the selectors, especially after IPL performances. Let’s rewind to 2007. This is a myth that India won that World Cup with a young team. No, boss, we had experience. Harbhajan Singh had six years of experience. Virender Sehwag had six years of experience. Yuvraj Singh had five to six years of experience. I had four years of experience. Mahendra Singh Dhoni had four to five years of experience, he debuted in 2004,” said Pathan on Star Sports Press Room Show, Ticket to World Cup.

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“About 90% of the squad had proper three to six years of experience. And then we went into the World Cup, and we won the World Cup. A lot of people said the otherwise, that we won the World Cup with a young team. Yes, age-wise we were young, but experienced. So when the pressure situation comes, you always bank on experience. And that's why it might be the last time we see Rohit Sharma in the T20 World Cup. It might also be the last time we see Virat Kohli in the World Cup,” he added.

Selectors should be particularly vigilant given World Cup is in West Indies: Pathan

IPL 2024 has been a revolution in its way. Batters reign supreme in the cash-rich league and bowlers are pushed back. 200-plus scores are peanuts and a score of 250-plus has been chased down successfully. The latest edition of the tournament has changed the dynamics of the T20 cricket. Pathan highlighted the change in the wind and emphasised the need for experience in the slow Caribbean pitches to yield results.

“Then things might change because there is a big shift in T20 cricket, the way the cricket has been played. There was a time in T20 cricket or in one-day cricket, we used to think, okay, let's do a partnership where one batsman will go hard, the other batsman will rotate the strike. Now it doesn't happen. You have to go bang, bang from both the ends. So things are changing, and as a result, going forward, we might see a lot of youngsters participating in the T20 World Cup,” he continued.

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“However, this World Cup demands that selectors be particularly vigilant, especially given its location in the West Indies. And when the slowness of the game comes in, this is where the experience comes in. This is what Haydos said, this is what Tom Moody said, this is what I believe as well. Always bank on experience. Never solely rely on young players and believe that it will work just because it did in 2007. It's a myth, and I've just debunked it for you,” Pathan concluded.