The inaugural winners of the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup have plenty of selection difficulties to address with only five months till the competition begins.
Over a billion people anticipate India’s very skilled side to win some major silverware for the first time since won the ICC Champions Trophy trophy in England in 2013.
With T20I series against South Africa, Ireland, and England looming ahead of the big dance, the real challenge for the subcontinent giants may be putting together the ideal lineup from a very talented pool of players.
So, who’s in with a chance to fly to Australia later this year?
Is the top three decided?
On paper, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli appear to have their places in the team secured.
While these three may eventually be chosen, Sharma and Virat Kohli’s recent form provides cause for concern. In a World Cup year, a combined score of two fifties in 28 innings and batting averages of 19.14 for Sharma and 23.76 for Kohli in the IPL have raised some severe caution signals.
If India sticks with this combination, they’ll have three right-handers at the top of the order.
With Pakistan (2010) being the only exception, six of the previous seven winners of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup had a left-hand-right-hand starting partnership in the final.
Dhawan has a history of playing well at ICC competitions, with an average of 53.70 in the ICC Mens Cricket World Cup and 77.88 in the ICC Champions Trophy. He won the Player of the Tournament award at the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy and has two ODI centuries and a T20I average of 33.87 on Australian soil.
Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad have all opened well for their respective IPL franchises and could be considered. The lack of experience within this group is the largest problem, with the four combining for only 15 T20Is, with Kishan’s 10 T20Is accounting for the majority of that total.
Who will take over as the finisher?
Finding a solid middle order, as well as the almost impossible chore of replacing MS Dhoni’s finishing skills, may continue to be a source of concern for India.
Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya have all taken turns filling that hole over the last year. Pant would remain indispensable as the club’s primary wicket-keeper, but the team would still want at least one more reliable finisher.
India has a versatile floater in Pandya, who can bat in a variety of spots depending on the match situation. In addition, unlike Iyer and Yadav, who had each played one game in Australia, the Gujarat Titans captain had a fantastic tour in 2020.
In the three-match ODI series, Pandya averaged 105 owing to two big innings of 90 and 92*, and he also won the Player of the Series award in the T20I series win against the hosts. The flashy all-rounder has never lacked confidence, but his newly acquired captaincy job in the IPL appears to have loaded that tank to the brim.
Dinesh Karthik is a fantastic combination of form and experience, should India require further choices. He has averaged 57.40 and scored at a strike rate of 191.33 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in this year’s IPL. He was a member of the title-winning lineups at both the T20 World Cup 2007 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2013.
Karthik has stated his case to the best of his ability, but will the selectors take a chance and include him in the World Cup squad?
Will India continue to use two spinners?
India’s penchant for, or dependence on, a good spin assault is well known, and we may see them continuing to do so in October.
The omission of Yuzvendra Chahal from India’s 2021 roster was undoubtedly the most talked-about topic leading up to the T20 World Cup. The leg-spinner has now moved on, joining a new IPL side and presently leading the most wickets table with 26 wickets this season.
Over the last two months, Kuldeep Yadav has picked up 21 wickets, while Ravichandran Ashwin has demonstrated his variety and effectiveness with the bat, scoring at a strike rate of 146 and an average of 30.
We’ve already mentioned three excellent candidates, and we haven’t even discussed Ravindra Jadeja. The all-rounder, who is a key member of the T20I squad, had a difficult IPL season, which began with a terrible captaincy stint with the Chennai Super Kings and ended with injuries ruling him out of the competition.
At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if three or even all four of these spinners flew to Australia, with Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi having a chance to replace them.
Will India continue to use two spinners?
India’s penchant for, or dependence on, a good spin assault is well known, and we may see them continuing to do so in October.
The omission of Yuzvendra Chahal from India’s 2021 roster was undoubtedly the most talked-about topic leading up to the T20 World Cup. The leg-spinner has now moved on, joining a new IPL side and presently leading the most wickets table with 26 wickets this season.
Over the last two months, Kuldeep Yadav has picked up 21 wickets, while Ravichandran Ashwin has demonstrated his variety and effectiveness with the bat, scoring at a strike rate of 146 and an average of 30.
We’ve already mentioned three excellent candidates, and we haven’t even discussed Ravindra Jadeja. The all-rounder, who is a key member of the T20I squad, had a difficult IPL season, which began with a terrible captaincy stint with the Chennai Super Kings and ended with injuries ruling him out of the competition.
At this point, it wouldn’t be surprising if three or even all four of these spinners flew to Australia, with Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi having a chance to replace them.
But this is where things start to get interesting for the Indian selectors, with a slew of pacers vying for the final fast-bowling berth in the starting 11.
Harshal Patel has been a nightmare for all IPL opponents in the final overs, taking up 18 wickets, and with his versatility, he might be the front-runner to be Bumrah’s partner to close the innings.
Punjab Kings’ Arshdeep Singh, on the other hand, provides discipline and, more crucially, a left-arm fast bowling option. At least one left-arm seamer was present in four of the last seven T20 World Cup winning teams.
T. Natarajan is the only other left-arm seamer India might consider. He has 18 wickets but has bowled a tad pricey, surrendering 9.44 runs per over.
Then there’s Umran Malik, the craziest of wildcards, who is breaking every figurative glass ceiling with his incredible speed. Malik has not only consistently bowled above 150kmph, but he has also taken 21 wickets in this year’s IPL, placing him in the top five wicket-takers.
Raw pace is unbeatable, and it’s arguably one of the few qualities a fast bowler can’t learn. In T20 cricket, the term “x-factor” is frequently used, and Malik, 22, could be that x-factor for his squad.
India might also look at someone with more experience, such as Shardul Thakur, who played in the T20 World Cup in 2021, or Prasidh Krishna, who made his international debut earlier this year.
The selectors have some time before making crucial judgments, but with less than five months until the ICC T20 World Cup 2022, they’d rather have answers sooner rather than later.
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