Yes and no. A 3-match series against a weaker team without their crisis man Rashid Khan was never going to miraculously answer India’s questions. But perhaps it showed India what its T20I team’s questions are. In case you were under a rock all this time, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli played their first T20Is for India since the 2022 World Cup Semi-Final. Their inclusion was and will remain questionable until the World Cup because you can’t draw conclusions from a 3-match sample space. India did discover a couple of important names that could stay with the team in the upcoming World Cup. And while India found a few answers, a lot more questions have forced their way into consideration.
(1). The Rohit-Kohli Question
After a year-long sabbatical from T20Is, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli walked back into the T20I side against Afghanistan without having to earn their spots. One might say it’s stupid to even suggest that two of the greatest players of the modern era have anything to prove, but here’s the thing, India has played 25 T20Is since the last twenty-over World Cup (before INDvAFG series), Virat and Rohit hadn’t featured in any of these matches. Rohit had a very ordinary IPL season, and Virat’s IPL season got a huge boost by two centuries. Regardless, they were picked for the team, and this selection most likely means they are going to the States and the Caribbean in June.
Rohit captained and played in all three matches whilst Virat missed the first match due to personal reasons. Was there anything evident about their batting? Were they suddenly “T20 Worthy” again? No. But a couple of games don’t tell us anything. A critical question bundled with their comeback was where were they all this while? Was this always the plan? Or did the management and the board suddenly decide they want their veterans back? Whatever it was, it displayed a lack of planning and far-sightedness.
With 3 and 2 T20Is played since the last World Cup, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will accompany a young team to a World Cup. Fill up two spots, two spots youngsters would have been in. And since we really don’t have an option, let’s take a positive spin on this.
There is no denying Rohit and Virat are world-class batters. And such skillful batters can surely alter their batting style just for this World Cup to suit the format and the team better. And there were signs that they wanted to do this for the team. Let’s start with Rohit.
Rohit was dismissed for ducks in the first two matches, the first one an unfortunate run-out, and the second one a ridiculous shot. And the third match wasn’t looking good in the initial 10-15 balls. He was struggling to get bat to ball as if he was in a polar opposite state to the 2023 ODI World Cup Rohit Sharma. But once he got set, he accelerated his way to a 173 strike-rate century. In his first 30 balls, Rohit scored 27 runs with a six and 2 boundaries. But, in the next 39 balls, Rohit got 94 runs with 7 sixes and 9 fours. This is a crazy statistic. And this was an even crazier innings, probably his best T20 knock ever. But the issue with such knocks is that these knocks occur once in probably 20-30 innings, or even rarer. Most of the time, Rohit would’ve gotten out in the 30s at run-a-ball. And as an opener, these knocks would do more harm than good. Whilst I appreciate this knock, I refuse to take anything from this inning. Against a stronger opposition, in the sticky slow Caribbean conditions, this isn’t happening. So, I am very concerned about Rohit, as everything we’ve seen from him shows he wants to get going right away, play with intent, and help the team as much as he can, but it’s not happening.
Virat Kohli is next. Out of the two matches he played in, he got a quickfire 29 in the first match, and a golden duck in the second. Again, not nearly enough sample space to figure anything out. Although it was an impressive but unusual outing in Indore for the second T20I, it was an equally poor outing in the final T20I, getting dismissed off a horrendous shot on the first ball. Similar to Rohit, this was a series that showcased Virat’s mentality more than anything. Too little time to get results, but it looks like he’s given up the anchor role in T20s and will go for quickfire explosive cameos for the Indian team. With Rohit, this is fine, because power hitting and slogging is his natural game, but it’s not Virat’s. A huge risk factor with Virat Kohli trying to slog balls and play quickfire knocks is his chance of failure. Virat might fail more often trying to slog the ball without getting set on the pitch, now whether this will benefit or damage the team, I don’t know. But I know one thing, I am not comfortable with Virat taking a large number of risks in his initial 15 deliveries, he tried this in his rough patch in 2022 and that backfired. As it is with India’s tradition at T20 World Cups, a Virat failure might just cost us much more than a Rohit failure.
There are takeaways for both. Mindset more than anything. But there is a huge IPL season coming up for both of them. 14 matches is plenty of time to answer questions about their performance and inclusion, and a mediocre IPL will not only force more questions but make India’s case at the T20 World Cup a lot weaker.
(2). The Opener Question
With Rohit back, one opening spot is all that’s available amongst three dynamic youngsters - Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Gaikwad was injured and hence unavailable for selection for this series, which unfortunately most probably means he’ll not make the final 15 for the World Cup. And owing to his performance and Coach Dravid’s words, Jaiswal will hold the other opening spot for now. This will mean Shubman Gill moves to the bench, and fair enough. Gill has been nowhere near what we all know is his best in T20Is especially. And Jaiswal has picked up T20I batting like he was born for it. Since his debut, India’s run rate in the powerplay has increased from 6.8 to 9.2 RPO. That is a massive jump, and Jaiswal can be very proud of it, barring any injuries, he will start for India in the World Cup.
Now what does this series tell us about the opening situation? With the arrival of Rohit, one of the three youngsters will sit out of the squad, and fortunately for Gaikwad, Gill hasn’t done well enough to cement a spot in the squad. Now remember, this was the last set of T20Is India played before the World Cup. Next is the IPL and then we directly move to the World Cup. So the IPL is all it depends on. The better performer out of Gill and Gaikwad should go to the World Cup. It is as simple as that. And all this series has done in the opening department is solidifying Yashasvi as our second opener.
(3). The Middle-Order Question
Suryakumar Yadav caught an injury whilst fielding in the South Africa T20Is, and he’s been out since. Which meant he wasn’t a part of this series. And given he recovers from his injury in time, he will walk into the side in June. So, who sits out? Here are your options: Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma/Sanju Samson, or Rinku Singh. This is where it gets complicated. Let me explain this situation to you. Shivam Dube was incredible with the bat in this series, and handy with the ball, so good that he was named the player of the series. Do you drop him? If yes, then you lose your 6th bowling option and you deny a chance to a youngster who has done everything required to be in the team. Alright, not Dube then.
Do you drop Jitesh or Sanju? If yes, you lose your only wicketkeeper, and to solve this, you would need to drop Yashasvi and pick Ishan Kishan in the side. But you surely can’t drop Yashasvi right? So you can’t drop JItesh or Sanju. Right then. Rinku Singh then? Do you drop your most trustable entity in the team? Do you drop a player who’s performed every time he’s stepped onto the field in T20Is for India? No, how could you? And bear with me, this gets weirder and messier.
The next 5 players in the batting order in the second T20I of this series were Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, and Mukesh Kumar. If you drop any one of them, you lose a full-time bowler, and Dube becomes your 5th bowler. And you of course don’t want that. And this right here is the problem with this team. And one of the biggest reasons I didn’t want to see Rohit and Virat back in the side. Where does SKY fit? Because you surely can’t keep arguably the greatest Indian T20 batsman out of the team. There are a couple of options to make this happen, but these get ugly and uncomfortable.
Option 1: Drop Yashasvi/Rohit and move Virat into the other opening spot, this frees up one spot without giving up the 6th bowling option or Rinku Singh.
Option 2: Drop Virat emptying up a spot, and SKY can slot in at number 3.
Both these options are unpleasant, and dropping any 3 of them is tough, and unlikely to happen, at least with Rohit and Virat. But, it’s a decision the team management will have to make. With no fault of their own, the team structure is in a mess with no T20Is left before the World Cup.
Alright, did you get a headache reading this? Wait for it, it gets messier. Notice a particular name missing from the team? The new MI skipper, Hardik Pandya. He was injured in the ODI world cup against Bangladesh, and he was diagnosed with a torn tendon, and he hasn’t recovered yet and is likely to directly play in the IPL. Regardless of his season, he will go to the World Cup. Who does he replace? Where does he come in? The most likely option is Shivam Dube, and probably what will happen, but after a series like this one, it feels unfair to drop him. Additionally, dropping him wouldn’t give us another bowling option, Hardik would just replace him, and bowl better, but I feel Hardik has lost a bit of the explosive batting he was known for. But if not Dube, Rinku Singh is another option. Again, I wouldn’t drop him as India hasn’t had such a finisher in any format since MS (Dhoni) retired. The only other option is as follows:
Option: Drop two out of Yashasvi/Rohit/Virat, move Jitesh/Sanju into the other opening slot, SKY at 3, Dube at 4, Hardik at 5, and Rinku at 6.
This option would result in dropping either Rohit or Kohli, and that isn’t happening. So, the most likely option is picking Hardik in place of Dube, tough and unfair, but I am not dropping Hardik for the World Cup.
Relax, that is all the mess for the batting lineup, but there is one more topic associated with India’s batting lineup I’d like to discuss. Shivam Dube.
(4). The Dube Question
If someone told me Shivam Dube was going to be the man of the series before this series started, I’d have laughed, not with dislike or distrust in the player, but I believe there are better, more established performers in the team. Yet, Dube outdid them all. And the role he played, has produced a unique situation for the team. India hasn’t had a good pace-bowling all-rounder other than Hardik Pandya, which made Hardik a sought-after commodity, but with Dube, India suddenly has two genuine pace-bowling all-rounders. Yes, Dube isn’t that effective with the ball, but he can learn, and there is no better place to learn than under MS Dhoni in CSK. Already for the upcoming World Cup, if the team management is prepared to make some tough decisions, India can take two fast all-rounders. Which increases their batting depth as well as their bowling depth and takes them closer to becoming a competitive T20I team.
Shivam Dube is a unique find. A glance at him makes him look like a weak and unpleasant batter and a pure power-hitter, but he is so much more than that. As you watch him bat more and more, you’ll understand there’s a pattern to his batting. He doesn’t move his feet too much and relies on his arm strength, but he is very well aware of his hitting arc. Deliveries pitched up to him right in front of the stumps in a “V-shape” are easy targets for him, and of course, anything wide is a piece of cake for him too. The deliveries that aren’t in his arc, most of the time, he knows how to avoid them. He’s not the most skillful batter, but he times the ball very well, and he’s mighty strong. Now of course this was just Afghanistan, that too without Rashid Khan, but he’s shown he has the right intent and the right way of playing T20 cricket. If India can, they need to find a way to take both Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube to their playing XI in the World Cup.
(5). The Wicket-Keeper Question
Who keeps the wickets for India at the World Cup? There are 2 main candidates and a 3rd one with an outside chance. Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson, and the third one being Ishan Kishan. Jitesh Sharma was good in one of the two matches he played in this series. Though he didn’t get a big score, he did his part by hitting a quickfire cameo of 31 making the chase easier. In the 7 innings he has played for India, he has scored 100 runs at a strike-rate of 147.05. It’s not the greatest statistic, but it’s not as bad as it seems. Batting at number 5/6 is usually difficult in T20s because you majorly bat at the death or in the last 8-9 overs. And a strike rate of 147.05 over 7 innings scoring 100 runs is not bad. Additionally, being young makes a very strong case for Jitesh to go to the World Cup. And with Sanju’s failure in the final T20I, Jitesh’s case just gets stronger.
My pick is Jitesh Sharma, Sanju should be in the squad as the backup wicket-keeper, but Jitesh has shown us enough to pick him over Sanju.
(6). The Bowling Question
India will play all of their first-round matches in the USA, and we don’t know what the pitches there are going to be like. If they are similar to the one in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, then it is going to be a run-fest, and picking fewer spinners will be the way to go, but if they are like the Caribbean, 3 spinners in the side will be a smart pick. All teams will anyways play the Super 8, semis, and the finals in the Caribbean, hence a spin-heavy side will be the way to go.
So, who do we pick? Two all-rounders and a full-time spinner preferably? This gives India batting and bowling depth. 4 players are in contention for these spots, two all-rounders and two full-time spinners. Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, and Kuldeep Yadav. I feel Ravindra Jadeja's time in T20Is should come to and end. He doesn't provide enough neither with the ball or the bat in the shortest format of the game. He isn't attacking enough, and doesn't have enough variations to get consistent wickets, and that is why I haven't taken his name in this list. If it is a spinning track, both Axar Patel and Washington Sundar will walk into the XI, and if it’s a flatter track, Axar Patel will be my pick as the spinning all-rounder. What about the specialist spinners? You can’t go much wrong with either Kuldeep or Bishnoi, but here’s where this series provided us with some answers.
Ravi Bishnoi has been phenomenal in the time he has played for India, and he was incredible in this series as well. He has picked 36 wickets in 24 matches at an average of 19.52 at an economy of 7.5. And his performance in the second super over in the final T20I will add a substantial advantage to his resume over Kuldeep. My pick would be Ravi Bishnoi over Kuldeep Yadav, as his bowling style and variations provide a much better spin attack for this format.
What about the pace department? 3 pacers played in this series, 2 per match. And that’s probably how it will be in the World Cup, a combination of 3 spinners and 2 pacers would work majorly. Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, and Mukesh Kumarn are the contenders for these 3 spots in the squad. Out of these 4, Avesh Khan is probably the most expensive and inconsistent bowler. Going with Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Mukesh Kumar would seemingly be the right call, and would fit the amount of chances given to these players since the last T20 World Cup. This series hasn’t answered a lot about the pace department. And the answers team India went looking for probably drew them to the conclusion of Arshdeep and Mukesh being the two pacers out of this squad as Siraj was rested. The situation with Jasprit Bumrah is unclear, there hasn’t been any communication regarding why he missed this Afghanistan series and if he is in consideration for the World Cup, if not, this is going to be a massive miss for India.
(7). Conclusion
The Indian team went looking for some answers in this final series before the World Cup. Various factors have made it incredibly difficult to settle on a team or solidify multiple positions, some by their own mistakes, and some by no fault of their own. Selecting Rohit and Virat once again, this late in the preparations was a mistake, and regardless of how this series has gone for them, they’ll be reserving two spots where others who have performed while they were away would’ve played. And these two spots getting solidified adds to the complications of injuries. Whatever it may be, Rohit and Rahul Dravid need to figure out fast what they want to do, and more importantly, what they want out of this team. Do they want batting depth, do they want bowling depth, or do they just want to play the seniors and burn another World Cup attempt? One positive aspect of this World Cup is the competition, due to a lack of T20I practice, no teams look incredibly competitive and superior to the rest, and with new wickets in the USA, the crown is up for the taking. If India can battle tough decisions and build a “competitive” T20 team, I don’t see why they cannot compete for the trophy.
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