Bilateral series are mostly warm-up games, and one shouldn't read too much into them: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has stated that the bilateral ODI series are warm-up games and one shouldn’t read too much into those results, adding that no cricket fan remembers the result of what happened in bilateral ODI series a few weeks later.

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Speaking on his Instagram handle, Manjrekar went on to state that the ICC World Cup is the only ODI tournament that holds value, adding that even the ICC Champions Trophy doesn’t have enough value at the moment.

These comments came right after India’s first-ever home series defeat to New Zealand in ODI cricket. Notably, India suffered a 1-2 ODI series loss to the BlackCaps in the three-match series, which was concluded on Sunday, January 18, in Indore.

"Honestly, in 50-overs cricket today, what really matters are the World Cups and not even the Champions Trophy. If you try and remember the last three Champions Trophy winners, you'll struggle to remember those. But the 50-over World Cup, you'll remember each winner from the time the World Cup started,” Manjrekar said on his Instagram handle.

“So, yes, if you want to have your setbacks and poor performances, get it out of the system now, in time for the next World Cup. These bilateral series are scheduled, but they're mostly warm up games and one shouldn't read too much into them,” he added.

In fact, the importance of these bilateral series has become such that, two weeks later, no cricket fan also remembers the result of what happened in that bilateral ODI series. It's all about the World Cups and form coming into the World Cup is really not a big indicator of who's going to win the World Cup," he stated.

Watch the video here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DTt9iGhiHrI/ 

India will now shift the momentum to the T20I series against New Zealand, which will act as a build-up for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, starting on February 7.

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