T20 World Cup: Mission Australia underway for India

CHENNAI: In the end, as reported by this newspaper, there was no surprise inclusion in the 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup to be held in Australia beginning October 16. Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel —  who missed India’s Asia Cup campaign with back and rib injuries, respectively — have been included for the trip Down Under after clearing the fitness tests.

The Asia Cup debacle in the UAE has led to some serious doubts as to whether India can be counted among favourites. However, the selectors and the team management have chosen to retain the faith in the batting group as they have performed well in the bilateral T20Is since the last T20 World Cup, where they failed to get past the group stages.

The 15-member squad includes five batters in captain Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda. The two wicketkeeping slots which was a topic of discussion among the selectors on Monday, went to Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant. While the former’s place was never in doubt as he is the only role-specific batter in the squad, there were some concerns about Pant’s place. As much as he has cracked the Test and ODIs to an extent, the left-hander is yet to do the same with T20Is. However, with Ravindra Jadeja – who would have been a certainty in the XI if not for an injury – not available, Pant was always going to be an automatic pick as also happens to be the only left-hander in the batting unit.

For the three all-rounders slot, the selectors went with Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin and Axar Patel. The one spinner’s place went to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, meaning there is no place for Ravi Bishnoi. The only way the leg-spinner could have got a look-in was if the selectors wanted to drop someone like Ashwin. However, the off-spinner enjoys a strong backing from the team management and the captain, as they believe he will have a big role to play at the World Cup.

Given the injury concerns to Burmah and Harshal, a serious thought was given around recalling Mohammed Shami to the World Cup-bound squad. The Bengal pacer had a fruitful IPL with Gujarat Titans, where he picked up 20 wickets. That said, since the last T20 World Cup, he hasn’t played a single T20 international. Shami, though, finds himself in the reserves, and has been included for the two home series against Australia and South Africa that precede the World Cup. For the World Cup, Bumrah, Harshal, Arshdeep Singh and Bhunveshwar Kumar are the four pacers. Deepak Chahar is also included in the standby’s alongside batter Shreyas Iyer.

While selecting the 15 was never going to be an issue, much of India’s fate in the World Cup lies in the combination they choose to take the field. For instance, they are keen on having a good batting depth, and are also keen on having six bowling options. Hooda was included in the plans post the last World Cup debacle as he happens to be the only batter in the line-up who could be banked on to bowl on a regular basis. However, it is very unlikely he would find a slot in the XI as Suryakumar Yadav is high in the pecking order and there is no place in the top-three. Slotting Hooda at No 6 & 7 – a role he is not used to – ahead of Karthik, who specialises in a finisher’s role, could be detrimental. At the same time, if

Hooda doesn’t make the cut, then India may not have a sixth bowling option.This means, someone like Axar, could end up becoming an integral member of the squad if India need to blend batting depth and six bowling options together. Including Axar in the XI means India will also have a left-hander in the batting order, and it could open the way for Karthik to play ahead of Pant.

In the 15-member squad, India are definitely not short on resources. But how they manage those resources would ultimately seal their fate.

T20 World Cup: Rohit (C), Rahul (vc), Kohli, Suryakumar, Hooda, Pant (wk), Karthik (wk), Hardik, Ashwin, Chahal, Axar, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal, Arshdeep. Standbys- Shami, Shreyas, Bishnoi, Chahar.
* Shami and Chahar included for Australia and South Africa T20Is. Arshdeep will miss the former and Bhuvneshwar the latter.

CHENNAI: In the end, as reported by this newspaper, there was no surprise inclusion in the 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup to be held in Australia beginning October 16. Fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel —  who missed India’s Asia Cup campaign with back and rib injuries, respectively — have been included for the trip Down Under after clearing the fitness tests. The Asia Cup debacle in the UAE has led to some serious doubts as to whether India can be counted among favourites. However, the selectors and the team management have chosen to retain the faith in the batting group as they have performed well in the bilateral T20Is since the last T20 World Cup, where they failed to get past the group stages. The 15-member squad includes five batters in captain Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda. The two wicketkeeping slots which was a topic of discussion among the selectors on Monday, went to Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant. While the former’s place was never in doubt as he is the only role-specific batter in the squad, there were some concerns about Pant’s place. As much as he has cracked the Test and ODIs to an extent, the left-hander is yet to do the same with T20Is. However, with Ravindra Jadeja – who would have been a certainty in the XI if not for an injury – not available, Pant was always going to be an automatic pick as also happens to be the only left-hander in the batting unit. For the three all-rounders slot, the selectors went with Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin and Axar Patel. The one spinner’s place went to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, meaning there is no place for Ravi Bishnoi. The only way the leg-spinner could have got a look-in was if the selectors wanted to drop someone like Ashwin. However, the off-spinner enjoys a strong backing from the team management and the captain, as they believe he will have a big role to play at the World Cup. Given the injury concerns to Burmah and Harshal, a serious thought was given around recalling Mohammed Shami to the World Cup-bound squad. The Bengal pacer had a fruitful IPL with Gujarat Titans, where he picked up 20 wickets. That said, since the last T20 World Cup, he hasn’t played a single T20 international. Shami, though, finds himself in the reserves, and has been included for the two home series against Australia and South Africa that precede the World Cup. For the World Cup, Bumrah, Harshal, Arshdeep Singh and Bhunveshwar Kumar are the four pacers. Deepak Chahar is also included in the standby’s alongside batter Shreyas Iyer. While selecting the 15 was never going to be an issue, much of India’s fate in the World Cup lies in the combination they choose to take the field. For instance, they are keen on having a good batting depth, and are also keen on having six bowling options. Hooda was included in the plans post the last World Cup debacle as he happens to be the only batter in the line-up who could be banked on to bowl on a regular basis. However, it is very unlikely he would find a slot in the XI as Suryakumar Yadav is high in the pecking order and there is no place in the top-three. Slotting Hooda at No 6 & 7 – a role he is not used to – ahead of Karthik, who specialises in a finisher’s role, could be detrimental. At the same time, if Hooda doesn’t make the cut, then India may not have a sixth bowling option.This means, someone like Axar, could end up becoming an integral member of the squad if India need to blend batting depth and six bowling options together. Including Axar in the XI means India will also have a left-hander in the batting order, and it could open the way for Karthik to play ahead of Pant. In the 15-member squad, India are definitely not short on resources. But how they manage those resources would ultimately seal their fate. T20 World Cup: Rohit (C), Rahul (vc), Kohli, Suryakumar, Hooda, Pant (wk), Karthik (wk), Hardik, Ashwin, Chahal, Axar, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal, Arshdeep. Standbys- Shami, Shreyas, Bishnoi, Chahar. * Shami and Chahar included for Australia and South Africa T20Is. Arshdeep will miss the former and Bhuvneshwar the latter.