Kedar Jadhav and Yuzvendra Chahal could find their names struck off the final XI as India aim for a quick turnaround in their penultimate World Cup group league game against a battle-hardened Bangladesh, which is trying to stay relevant in a fight for the last-four berth.
The seasoned Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja are in contention for the first XI berths keeping the odd dimensions of the Edgbaston ground in mind.
India are currently on 11 points from seven games and a win on Tuesday will ensure a smooth passage to the semi-finals unlike Bangladesh, who must win their last couple of league games in order to make their maiden entry into the last four stage.
Weak links in Indian Team exposed after England match
Having received a rude shake-up from England, India will have very little time for recovery as they seek immediate course correction against a team, which boasts of the world’s No.1 all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan in its ranks.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s poor show as a finisher in a wobbly middle-order has already made the Indian team look vulnerable more than ever and insult to injury was the first lacklustre bowling day in the tournament, that led to an implosion.
India scored only 39 runs in the last five overs against England, with Dhoni and Jadhav at the crease. More than their inability to hit big shots, which was certainly the primary factor, the lack of intent was an eyesore.
However, the team management has rallied around their senior-most player and that makes Jadhav the possible fall guy, making Ravindra Jadeja’s case for inclusion stronger by the day.
Possible Indian Team strategy
The primary logic could possibly be Jadeja being better at big-hitting compared to Jadhav, when batting at Nos.6 or 7. His wicket-to-wicket left-arm spin is a restrictive option and to top it all, his outstanding ability to field at any position.
The other factor that could play a massive role in this decision is the dimension of the Edgbaston ground, where the boundary on one of the sides is less than 60 metres.
The England troika of Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes exploited the shorter boundary against wrist spinners Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, hitting the reverse sweep effectively.
Similarly, when England bowled, all their pacers were seen bowling to a field set on the side of the longer boundary, which helped them cut the number of sixes to a mere one.
After being outplayed tactically, the team management are eager to set things right and have understood that two wrist spinners could be a risk against the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Shakib, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das and Mahmudullah.
With Bhuvneshwar Kumar being fit and available for selection, India for the first time in the tournament, could go in with three frontline pacers and in that case, Chahal may have to cool his heels after recording worst ever World Cup figures (0/88 in 10 overs) by an Indian bowler.
If Bhuvneshwar is included in the playing XI against Bangladesh, it will definitely bolster the lower-order batting.
For India, the important thing will be that Bangladesh’s bowling won’t have the same potency as England and they will heavily depend on Shakib’s all-round exploits (476 runs and 10 wickets) that has got them so far in the tournament.
Bangladesh’s weak link
Bowling will be Bangladesh’s weak link and Virat Kohli will certainly want to bat first on a placid track piling up more agony for the ‘Tigers’
Bangladesh’s biggest problem is their skipper Mashrafe Mortaza, who has taken only one wicket in six games so far.
Mashrafe has lost the zip and is in the team because of his acceptability as the Bangladesh captain.
Vijay Shankar out of World Cup with toe injury, Mayank Agarwal named replacement
Indian all-rounder Vijay Shankar was Monday ruled out of the ongoing World Cup due to a toe injury and will be replaced by batsman Mayank Agarwal, who is yet to make his ODI debut.
Shankar is the second Indian player to be ruled out of the tournament after senior opener Shikhar Dhawan exited due to a thumb fracture, sustained in the game against Australia. Rishabh Pant had replaced him.
“Vijay Shankar was struck on the left big toe whilst batting in the nets on June 19th in Southampton. He was able to play in an unrestricted manner in the following two matches against Afghanistan and West Indies,” said the BCCI in a statement.
“Following the match on June 27, the condition of his toe worsened and a CT scan showed he sustained a non-displaced fracture of the left big toe. The condition will require a minimum of three weeks to heal. The injury rules him out of the ongoing World Cup,” it added.
The BCCI named Agarwal as Shankar’s replacement and it was approved by the International Cricket Council. The Indian team had requested the BCCI for a “suitable top-order batsman“.
“The International Cricket Council has confirmed that the Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 has approved Mayank Agarwal as a replacement player for Vijay Shankar in the India squad for the remainder of the tournament,” said the ICC in a release.
However, there are questions being raised in some sections as to what kind of report initially was given by physio Patrick Farhart, which allowed him to play unrestricted during the next two games.
Those in the know of things feel that Shankar’s untimely exit from the World Cup could be a blessing in disguise as Agarwal is considered an impact player.
Karnataka opener Agarwal, who made his Test debut against Australia last year, is yet to play an ODI. It has been learnt that his performance in England during the last A series under Rahul Dravid’s coaching has been factored in while deciding his name.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant
Bangladesh: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmuduallah Riyadh, Sabbir Rahaman, Mehidy Hasan Miraj, Mosaddek Hossain, Mohammed Saifuddin, Mustafizur Rahaman, Rubel Hossain, Liton Kumar Das, Abu Jayed, Mohammed Mithun.