MUMBAI: You can have a huge talent pool but unless you put your best players on the park, it will not count for much. That is what makes the selectors’ job challenging – making the right picks, taking tough calls, rectifying their mistakes.
The Ajit Agarkar-led committee has done its job, picking a formidable side for the T20 World Cup in February and March. What will provide India a big advantage is that they will be playing in home conditions. The selectors have also eased the confusion that surrounded the squad till the India’s last T20I versus South Africa on Friday.
Like all teams, the current set also tinkered with combinations and experimented with the approaches. However, when it comes to the big event, a home World Cup, they have shown the clarity needed.
It starts with the opening combination. The one common thing for teams that have dominated in limited-overs cricket is their explosive openers. The template was set by New Zealand unleashing left-hand opener Mark Greatbatch as a pinch-hitter at the 1992 ODI World Cup. When India regained the title in 2011, it had Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar at the top.
Rohit Sharma reinvented his game to suit the demands of ODI and T20 format and the impact was seen at the 2023 ODI and 2024 T20 World Cups.
In Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson India have an exciting combination. Their game is of high risk, but when it comes off they put the opposition under pressure from the first over itself. Ishan Kishan, the other opener-keeper, is of the same attacking mould.
Abhishek likes to attack from ball one and it is natural that the opening partner will the pressure to match him. Shubman Gill found it tough to cope, but Samson can match the Punjab left-hander stroke for stroke. It was seen at its best during the 2024 T20I series in South Africa where Samson scored two hundreds in four innings, a 50-ball 107 and a 56-ball 109*.
ROLE CLARITY
A lot of factors will determine how the World Cup goes for India. The key rule for any team is to give players clarity over their roles and the brand of cricket to adopt. The selectors have removed all ambiguities. If Gill was not going play, having him in the squad could have led to confusion over the batting approach if the Abhishek-Samson combination is split due to injury or loss of form. On the other hand, Kishan, who is in great form too, is a great fit.
Clarity was also provided the rest of the top-order after Tilak Varma moved up to No.3 and skipper Suryakumar Yadav, struggling for form, announced he will drop to No.4. The merit of the switch is obvious. It’s not only about Surya’s vulnerability against the moving ball and shielding him. The captain is India’s most effective batter in the middle overs against spin with his horizontal bat shots.
Varma has a sound technique to handle the moving ball in case of an early wicket. He has the temperament to bat through the innings and thus covers up for the role Gill was supposed to play. It was a successful template for India in 2024 with Virat Kohli playing that role in the final victory against South Africa at Barbados.
India’s only cause of concern is the form of Surya, who averaged 8.50 against South Africa. Agarkar has backed him to regain rhythm. “Over the last few years, he was the No.1 T20 batter in the world, so we know what he brings to the table. He knows what he needs to do and hopefully from the World Cup, he’s again the No.1,” said Agarkar.
The intimidation factor in batting is provided by allrounder Hardik Pandya. Besides providing balance with his pace bowling, he is in dazzling batting form, making the difference in the SA series with a 28-ball 59* (at Cuttack) and 25-ball 63 (Ahmedabad).
SPIN ATTACK
With the tournament being in the sub-continent, all teams will fear India’s spin arsenal. Spin has been India’s successful template in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the 2024-25 Champions Trophy. In Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy, they have out and out spin strike bowlers, backed by spin allrounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. When the last T20 World Cup’s last phase moved to the Caribbean, Kuldeep proved the X-Factor with 10 wickets in five matches.
In the Champions Trophy held in the UAE, when India got in Varun, they had as many as four spinners in their last three games. The same template is expected again.
Agarkar said: “Axar and Washy, they give us flexibility. Because there are two all-rounders and we were very fortunate to have two spinners at this point – to have that in a T20 game is a huge ask. What combinations they play will depend on the values that they play in the team. We’ve got a lot of options to play at different positions which I’m sure the team management is working on.”
