"Quick, but tends to give you hit me balls" - Former India batter not convinced with England's bowling tactics in IND vs ENG 2025 T20I series 

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that England need to rethink their pace bowling strategy in T20Is following their 4-1 series loss in India. Acknowledging that the Englishmen have a couple of genuine quick pacers in Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, he pointed out that the Men in Blue batters used the extra pace to their advantage.

India thumped England by 150 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, February 2 in the fifth and final T20I of the series. Batting first, the Men in Blue put up 247-9 as Abhishek Sharma clobbered 135 off 54 balls, slamming seven fours and 13 sixes. The Indian bowlers combined to knock over just 97 runs in 10.3 overs.

Sharing his thoughts on England's poor performance in the T20I series, Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo that Jos Buttler and co. need to revisit their fast bowling tactics in the 20-over format if they want to do well in the World Cup in India next year.

"They've got speedsters, which is a good thing. But if you look at it through the series, the faster their bowlers bowled, more runs were scored against them. So they've got to look at a nice balance. Jamie Overton and Brydon Carse actually looked like they could keep better control on any batting," Manjrekar said.

"Jofra Archer is quick, but tends to give you certain hit me balls. So, they'll have to work out whether speed is the only reason why a bowler should be picked or go for these typical T20 bowlers when batters like Abhishek Sharma are on. Those tricky bowlers, slow medium, and may be a spinner somewhere in. Pace not really working even if it's quality in other formats," the 59-year-old added.

Archer picked up six wickets in five matches but had an economy rate of 10.30, while Wood claimed four wickets in four matches at an economy rate of 8.88. On the other hand, Carse claimed nine scalps in four games at an economy rate of 8.37, while Overton picked up seven wickets in five games at an economy of 9.27.

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"In helpful conditions, it might again fall away" - Manjrekar on England's batting effort against India's spinners

While the fast bowlers failed to stop India's young batters, England's batting outfit also struggled against India's quality spinners. Manjrekar opined that the visitors just tried to hit their way out of trouble, without any degree of conviction. He said:

"What was disappointing about England, the batting a bit glaring - the ability against spin. If India was an all-pace attack, I think they would have managed better. Against India's quality spin, the new gen approach not quite working. In helpful conditions, it might again fall away."

Skipper Jos Buttler (146) was England's highest run-getter in the T20I series against India. Ben Duckett scored 97 runs in five innings, Harry Brook 91, Phil Salt 87, and Liam Livingstone 74.