Archive for the ‘India’ Category
While IPL throws light on India’s talent, selectors continue to ignore the same
Posted on: April 29, 2023
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The IPL finally concluded earlier this week and the euphoria of the CSK win is still carrying on few days after the finals as expected. While the entire season was extremely brilliant, for me as an Indian cricket fan the batting talent which was on display was equally exciting. The Indian team while doing great in Tests till the end of 2021 struggled in the ICC tournaments over the last 3 years. A lacklustre T20 WC in UAE was followed by an inconsistent performance in Australia a year later. The biggest negative of both those squads was the lack of power hitters in the batting line up. The Indian batting was steady and except for Surya Kumar Yadav, none of the batters were able to go after the bowling to bat at strike rates required for a T20 game.
I haven’t been following IPL that closely over the past few seasons until this years tournament. I am very glad that I did because this year’s tournament showed the kind of young batting talent we have in our country who the selectors continue to ignore. The Indian white ball selection has been so pedestrian that the Indian performance in the format has gone from brilliant to average. The batting especially has been so unimaginative in recent times that except for Surya Kumar Yadav, the rest of the batting plays at the same pace resulting in below par totals most of the times. While it is heartening to see Shubman Gill finally getting his due at the highest level in all formats, there are quite a few brilliant cricketers waiting in the wings with enormous potential.
Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order this year showed how intent in the power play can be beneficial for a team. He struck at 163 in this season at an average of 53. The Indian selectors have been so adamant with their selections that we mostly played KL Rahul at the top in major tournaments. KL Rahul had one of the lowest Strike Rates for an opener this season in IPL and his international performances haven’t been different either. Not only the openers, India have struggled to pick impactful middle order in white ball formats as well and have heavily relied on Surya Kumar Yadav for impetus in the middle and final overs. We have seen some amazing strikers of the ball this season who should be given chances at the highest level.
This is the year of the 50 over world cup, so we aren’t going to see many changes in that format but T20I format should be used for trialing an overhaul of the white ball teams. We saw some amazing middle order bats this season and KKR’s Rinku Singh features on top of that list. It might be my ignorance but I hadn’t heard much about Rinku Singh prior to this year’s IPL. I was pleasantly surprised looking at his domestic record where he has scored loads of runs at a 50+ average in First Class cricket. I cannot even understand as to why his name was never mentioned as one of the front runners for the National side. Then there was the young Tilak Varma for Mumbai Indians who was brilliant with the bat as well. Both the above mentioned batters struck at 150+ SR’s this season. Then there were some steady batters like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sai Sudharshan who showed great technique and also the ability to up the ante when needed.
I think under Hardik Pandya the T20I team has a great opportunity for building a team for the future like how MS Dhoni did in 2007. The T20 team can be used as a template to overhaul the ODI team as well after the WC later this year. The Indian cricket team has so much talent at their disposal but the selectors have failed to capitalize on the same. The IPL every year shows the kind of talent the nation possesses but we hardly see any of the top performers get any decent run in the playing XI. The popularity of this season might just buck the trend and maybe we might see some changes in the T20 side.
Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, and Surya Kumar Yadav need to be India’s main stay in white ball format around which the team for the future should be built. It is nice to have some great players among us but again with the format constantly evolving it would be a crime if India do not utilise players when they are in great form.
The Indian team has an opportunity to become on of the best white ball sides in the world and for that to happen the selectors need to be bold and discuss the future with some of the senior players. I agree that someone like Virat Kohli has done brilliantly in IPL this season but again this is the time to rebuild the T20I side and some harsh decisions need to be taken. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been great servants of Indian cricket over the past decade but I feel it is time for them to hang up their boots at least in T20 format and allow the young batters to flourish and take the team to the next level. If the selectors and the team management don’t take some harsh calls, we might end up with same muddled team selections and might repeat the results of 2021 & 2022 T20 WC. I hope that this IPL has not only been an eye opener for the Indian fans but also for the national selectors and they finally see what the world has been talking about for years about the abundance of talent in Indian cricket.
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So finally the moment has arrived, the Border Gavaskar Trophy begins with the first Test at Nagpur tomorrow. The series also has an extra incentive for India as a win here would give them an opportunity to fight for the World Test championship title once again and also will make the home team number 1 in the rankings. There is a lot at stake for India. The Indian team though over the past 12 months hasn’t had the greatest of time in Tests but again their home dominance cannot be questioned. The pitch at Nagpur has been the talking point over the past few days but again it should not be a surprise as to what sort of surface awaits the visiting Australian team. India who have Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel & Kuldeep Yadav in the squad for sure would be wishing for a track which would aid their strength. The Australian team though know what they would be facing but again apart for Nathan Lyon they don’t have much experience in the spin department.
The Test is all set to begin tomorrow and lets look at the possible XI India might field in the first Test.
Openers:
Rohit Sharma (C) is all set to return at the top of the order after missing quite a lot of cricket over the past 12 months. He has been India’s best batter at the top over the past 2 years in Tests. Rohit averages 45 in the last 13 Tests with 2 hundreds and being the captain his batting will be crucial for India in this series.
KL Rahul (VC) in all probability will return to the top along with Rohit Sharma. KL Rahul has not been in greatest forms over the past year and his career at the top of the order in Tests has been in question for a while now. His Test average is 35 after 45 Tests and with Shubman Gill breathing down his neck he for sure would want to get back to scoring some runs in this series. Being the vice-captain of the side him scoring runs will be a huge boost for the team and for Rahul himself.
Middle Order:
Cheteshwar Pujara will return to the number 3 spot in the batting order after being briefly dropped from the side. Pujara though seemed to have regained some sort of form and had a good time in Bangladesh. His ability to play spin will be crucial for India as the pitches are expected to turn.
Virat Kohli will come in at number four behind Pujara but their returns in Tests cannot be more contrasting. While Pujara seems to have regained some sort of form with the bat, Virat has largely struggled in this format. The series in Bangladesh saw him struggling against spin once again and there is a huge question mark over his career in Tests ahead of this series. Virat scoring runs will be a huge boost for India and his record against Australia will give hope for the fans and the team alike.
Shubman Gill might actually pip Surya Kumar Yadav in the middle order in the first Test in the absence of Shreyas Iyer. The kind of form Shubman Gill is in right now, it will be hard to keep him out of the playing XI. Even though Gill hasn’t played in the middle order for India in Tests yet, he might still get the nod ahead of SKY.
Wicket Keeper:
Few months ago there wouldn’t have been any discussions about this spot in Tests for India but again with Rishabh Pant missing the team need to pick a keeper between KS Bharat and Ishan Kishen. Bharat has been in the Indian squad as an understudy for Pant for a while and he might get the nod ahead of Ishan Kishen who hasn’t been in greatest of forms recently. In terms of their FC records there is hardly anything to separate them but again Bharat has more experience with keeping being crucial on these tracks he mostly will get the nod ahead of Kishen.
Spin Bowling/All-rounders
The return of Ravindra Jadeja will be a huge plus for India. Jadeja is not only one of the best spinners in the world, he also is one of the best all-rounders in the game. Jadeja missing has been a huge hole in the Test side and his return means that India will get back the balance which they had been missing in Tests.
Ravichandran Ashwin is all set to return as India’s premier spinner. While Ashwin’s ability in Asia cannot be questioned with the ball, his batting in Bangladesh is something which will give India some much needed cushion lower down the order.
The third spinner spot is something which will be fought out between Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel. Kuldeep Yadav has been in red hot form recently in all formats and does give India some variety as both the premier spinners for India are finger spinners as well but again you cannot fault Axar Patel’s Test record with the ball which is nothing short of extraordinary. But again there is a chance that India might pick Kuldeep just for a wrist spin option. This is probably the only position in the XI which might go either way.
Fast Bowlers:
With three spinners in the XI there is space only for 2 fast bowlers and it will surely be Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami. Shami is India’s most experienced pacer and Siraj has been in such a great form recently that it is hard to keep him out from any playing XI. Umesh Yadav in the squad will unfortunately miss out.
So that is my playing XI. On a Nagpur pitch which is supposed to be a dry surface aiding spin the above playing XI will probably offer India the best chance of putting one past the Aussies and get to a winning start. The absence of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer would be a big loss for India but I think they just might have enough firepower to challenge Australia at home.
My Indian Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), C Pujara, V Kohli, S Gill, R Jadeja, KS Bharat, R Ashwin, K Yadav/A Patel, M Shami, M Siraj
Australian Likely X1: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Alex Carey (WK), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins (C), Nathan Lyon, M Starc, J Hazlewood
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Australia early in the 90’s was going through a transition of sorts. Allan Border, Dean Jones, Geoff Marsh, Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Mike Whitney and David Boon were all in their last legs. While rest of the world might be worried losing so many established all together at the same time, Australia weren’t. Australia’s talent in the 90’s is something which the entire world was envious about. They had Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Paul Reiffel, Jason Gillespie, Justin Langer etc were waiting in the wings. They were so strong that they could actually assemble two international quality teams at the same time and still challenge any team in the world.
Australia for a while at home actually played Tri-Series with Australia and Australia A competing with an international team at home where the two home teams ended up playing the finals. Such was the talent Australia possessed at that time. While so much talent is exciting, the way you use the talent at your disposal is important. While Australia were forced to make wholesale changes with the team with the Waugh brothers and Mark Taylor being the anchors, the way Australia used the talent they at that time is something to be marvelled about. They always picked the right people needed and backed the right talent which meant they were at the top for the next 2 decades.
When you have such a vast talent at your disposal, not everyone is going to get a chance to play for the National side. Even for example for Australia bowlers like Damien Fleming, Michael Kasprowicz, Paul Reiffel etc ended up playing way lesser games than they should have but again they filled the team needs when needed during their dominance.
The Indian team right now are in a similar phase like the Australian team of the early 90’s. India are in an enviable position with abundance of talent at their disposal. When you have so many amazing players to choose from the selectors and the team management need to make sure they are doing the right thing and select the right players for the right format. The biggest success of Australia was their cut throat selections. They never shied away from dropping players who were not performing or for selecting players with talent irrespective of their age. For example Matthew Hayden made a comeback at the age of 29 and became one of the best openers for Australia for the next decade. Michael Hussey made his debut at 30 and became one of the best players in the world.
When you have lots of talent to pick from the one thing you need to do is to shut the outside noise and think what will be best for the team. This is something the Indian selectors and the team management have failed to do over the past few years. It is all good having the richest league in the world and having best young players in the world but again if you don’t pick the right candidates in the squad it will amount to nothing. Not every talented player is going to make the national side but again the right people should always play. This is something which the Indian management need to realise. Just because you have lots of players to pick from the team cannot keep changing every series.
The clarity in selection and picking the right combination is what kept Australia on top for 2 decades which I don’t see from the Indian management. The confusion of picking experience versus young talent is what the Indian think tank are going through over the past few years. The reason for India not doing well in world tournaments can be attributed to picking wrong combination for the conditions they were going to play in. India have a great chance to dominate world cricket like Australia did for a long time but they haven’t been able to do so due to the selection blunders. This is not a phase which will last for long like Australia found out over the last decade or so. There will be time when you will struggle to get good talent coming through. There will be a phase when you might find it difficult to find replacements but before that happens you need to make most of the situation.
India right now are right now at the cusp of greatness and with some clarity in selection they can actually achieve that. The last couple of series have shown some promise and the hope is only that it is not a false dawn. This is the year of World Test Championship and the 50 over World Cup. India have a chance to win both and stamp their authority on World Cricket. No other team possesses the kind of talent India does and it will be shame if the team does not make full use of it.
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2023 is an important year of all teams as they prepare for the marquee event. Every series and every game is viewed as preparation of the major tournament and to iron out flaws with the team combination. India is no different. In 2022 the biggest criticism the Indian team received was that they tinkered with the team combination too much. The team tried to play too many games and by trying to use their enormous talent pool, they just created too many versions of the same LO team. The result was there to see as India struggled to come up with one proper T20 side and the confusion caused an unbalanced team for the World Cup once again.
This is not the first time India have done something like this, the 2021 T20 WC and the 2019 ODI WC were products of the same confusion which led to confusing team selections in important games. So far in 2023 India seems to have steered clear of such confusions. The selectors and team management seem to be displaying much clearer thinking than the past years and it is showing with some consistent selections in this format. Even though there are a few spots still to be confirmed the skeleton of the team looks much more consistent that in 2019.
India were never going to be challenged against a struggling Sri Lanka team at home but again the focus was as to how the team was going to perform and if they can be ruthless. The answer to that question was provided by a very clinical and ruthless win at Thiruvananthapuram last night. The batting on a pitch which isn’t considered as the best in India was phenomenal and the bowling capped off a perfect day for the home team. The biggest positive for India other than Virat Kohli is the faith shown by the team management on Shubman Gill as the opener. Gill has been brilliant over the last year or so and for sure deserved a chance to partner Rohit Sharma in this format. He showed why ODI is his best format once again by scoring 207 runs in the series with a century and a fifty.
The biggest positive for India in regards to the batting is the form of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli has been in tremendous white ball form for the past few months and the fact that he is scoring hundreds again should please both the fans and the management. Virat Kohli scoring runs at number 3 is a huge boost for the Indian top order. Rohit Sharma as well has looked in great nick since he made his comeback after injury. He has been aggressive at the top and will be disappointed to not convert those starts into a big one. Rohit seems to have formed a great partnership with Shubman Gill and hope India do not tinker with that combination.
The other big positive for India has been the consistent selection of the bowling attack. Mohammed Siraj has once again proven that he is India’s best LO bowler presently. He swings the new ball and picks wickets in the power play which is what India lacked in white ball formats. Mohammed Shami is a question mark still but he has been decent with the ball. India also will be happy with the performance of Umran Malik, who has bowled with lots of pace and has picked wickets in the middle overs. Hardik Pandya has looked good as well even though he did not pick too many wickets. Kuldeep Yadav making a comeback and picking wickets again is a huge plus for the Indian bowling attack as wickets in the middle overs will be crucial in the world cup.
There are still a few things the Indian team needs to iron out. KL Rahul despite his very good 60 odd not out is still a question mark as he hasn’t been that consistent over the last year or so. The selection of Surya Kumar Yadav is also another thing India needs to address as he is an impact player in white ball formats. Ishan Kishen who scored a double hundred in his last ODI game also needs to be in the picture as he provides a left-hand option at the top of the order. While India do need to try out different combinations in the lead up to the World Cup it is imperative that India decide on their best XI as well. Jasprit Bumrah will return soon and so will Ravindra Jadeja and India would need to pick the right attach for the tournament.
Right now as far as the pace attack goes only Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah are a lock for the WC playing XI. Hardik Pandya will be the pace bowling all-rounder but again India need to pick from a host of pacers for the rest of the spots. Mohammed Shami has been patchy and his fitness is a huge issue. Arshdeep Singh provides India with a left-arm variation but again he hasn’t played too may ODIs. Umran Malik has been brilliant with his express pace and needs to be persisted with. So quite a few headaches for the Indian team management. The spin combination also needs to be finalised with 3 finger-spinners probably vying for two spots in the squad. Washington Sundar & Axar Patel are probably fighting for one spot in the squad as Ravindra Jadeja when fit will walk into the playing XI. Chahal & Kuldeep will mostly be the two wrist spinners as India haven’t tried too many others in recent times.
India will need to avoid the mistakes of their previous selection debacles and make sure that right people are selected in the WC squad. This series for sure has provided India will a great insight as to who those players might be but again the team management should make sure that there isn’t too much of chopping and changing of the core players to maintain the consistency ahead of the tournament.
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The win against Afghanistan in the final game and Virat Kohli’s hundred after 3 years should not mask what a disastrous Asia Cup campaign this was for the Indian T20 team. India entered into the tournament as clear favorites with Pakistan being their competition but their performances were inconsistent to put it politely. The biggest issue for India was the lack of clarity in selection of the playing XI. While the team composition for the first 2 games looked right, some injuries and management succumbing to pressures of including some players in the XI caused some confusion with the playing combination.
The biggest issue with the previous leadership was the same that they lacked clarity with the team selection. While most often the top 3 remained same the rest of the batting order constantly kept changing which meant that India went into major tournaments without a settled batting order. The current leadership group seem to be following the same patter ahead of an important tournament. India is the number 1 T20 team in the world by a comfortable margin but again you wouldn’t be able to guess that by their performance in the Asia Cup.
The batting order was muddled. While the top 3 were okay, the rest of the batting kept changing. The first 2 games had the 2 all-rounders in the middle which gave the captain 6 bowling options, which wasn’t the case in the second stage of the tournament. India had to bowl just the 5 bowlers as it seemed like the captain did not have confidence in the bowling of Deepak Hooda. One has to question the selection of Hooda in the XI if he wasn’t going to bowl. India did have the option of Axar Patel in the absence of Jadeja which the management for some reason failed to make use of. For example Dinesh Karthik was chosen in the squad for his finishing abilities but again he wasn’t there for the two crucial super 4 games where a good finish might have given India those extra 10-15 runs.
The World T20 is just over a month away and India as usual are struggling to figure out what their ideal combination for the tournament would be. This is exactly what happened in the 2019 WC and the 2021 T20 WC last year. The team keeps experimenting till the last minute and manage to include players who haven’t played much in the squad leading up to an imbalanced playing XI in crucial games. I agree that the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel left a big hole in the bowling line up but again there were no excuses in the batting.
If India want to seriously win a world tournament they need to identify and stick to a playing XI for at least a few games to let them settle. India have announced their T20 WC squad and except for the return of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, there isn’t many surprises in the 15. The good thing is that India have picked the same squad for the series against Australia and South Africa which gives them ample opportunities to figure out their right playing combination for the World Cup. I understand that the playing conditions are completely different but again India for sure need to try and play the best team composition which they think will work irrespective of the surface they play on. If they continue to experiment too much leading up to the WC, they might end up with an unbalanced playing XI in the World Cup which might come back to haunt them in crucial games.
World T20 Squad:
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Standby Players: Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar
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The biggest problem we have had over the past few years with the Indian cricket team has been arriving at the right balance for a LOI XI. While in Test cricket there isn’t much room for experimentation in ODIs due to the enormous talent pool at their disposal India started to play around with their combination so much that they end up playing an unbalanced XI at most times.
In the ongoing Asia Cup if we look at the first 2 games, the balance was perfect. The two all-rounders at 6 & 7 followed by 4 bowlers was the ideal combination for a T20 team. India had 6 genuine bowling options in the first 2 games which helped India to juggle the bowlers better. When Jadeja was injured after the Hong Kong game, the Indian team broke that combination in their first Super 4 game against Pakistan which led to an unbalanced XI.
India had finally given into the wish list which the fans and experts have been calling for since the start of the tournament. The inclusion of Rishabh Pant is one such wish list which wasn’t needed in the scheme of things. Dinesh Karthik who played the first 2 games of the tournament hadn’t done anything wrong to be dropped for the game against Pakistan. Also the inclusion of Deepak Hooda did not make sense as well as India already had a like for like replacement for Jadeja with Axar Patel.
While Hooda was selected in the XI as a batter who could give you couple of overs, the fact that Rohit never used him with the ball is perplexing. This would only lead us to believe that Rohit Sharma or the team management do not have much confidence in the bowling abilities of Deepak Hooda. We saw that both Hardik Pandya & Yuzvendra Chahal had an off day and still they completed their full quota going for 11 an over. An over or 2 by the 6th bowler could have helped Rohit if he had the services of someone like Axar Patel at his disposal. This is what happens when you start heeding to chatter around you instead of selecting a team which gives the best balance for the XI.
If India wanted to play Rishabh Pant, he should have replaced Karthik but Hooda does not make into the XI as it affected the balance which the team had for the first 2 games. If Axar Patel was available and fit, he should have been in the XI in the place of Ravindra Jadeja. Axar is a genuine bowler, who most often than not gives you miserly overs in the middle and also picks up wickets. The lack of conviction in picking up the ideal LO XI has come back to haunt India. To be frank except for couple of forced changes, India did not have to make any more changes to the XI but they did it anyways.
The T20 WC is just over a month away and neither the fans nor the management know what India’s ideal XI is. Winning the Asia Cup is important but more than that India need to decide what batting ideal for the T20 team leading up to the marquee tournament. The biggest problem India had in 2021 WC in UAE was that the team was all over the place and there was no consistency in selection. India came into the Asia cup with some strange selections where players who played most games over the last 18 months were overlooked and now with this ridiculous meddling with the playing XI they are digging themselves into a bigger hole.
India take on Sri Lanka today for an important clash which will decide whether they can make it to the finals or not. I hope that some sense prevails and they go back to the combination they had for the first 2 games. Having a lot of talent is one thing but playing the right combination is what wins you tournaments.
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I know that India are known to back a bowler when they think that they see some potential. The Indian team management has backed Avesh Khan an lot over the last 18 months. Avesh has played 15 T20Is during this time and has mostly looked underwhelming. He did have couple of good performances over the last few months but mostly he has failed to provide the control which India needs from their third pacer in the XI. When we look at the last 18 months Avesh Khan has played 4th most number of games for India just behind, B Kumar, H Patel and H Pandya. His 15 games have only produced 13 wickets at an average of 32 and an economy rate of 9.1.
If you look in T20 terms, 15 games is quite a high number and none of the other bowlers except for the 3 others I mentioned above have played that many games. Even in the IPL where Avesh Khan had a decent time there were others who did better than him who weren’t considered for the National side. Mohammed Shami played just 5 T20Is over the past 18 months and had better average and economy rate than Avesh but was still not considered for the Asia Cup.
When we look at the IPL 2022, there were some great Indian bowling performances. The one bowler who comes to mind immediately is Moshin Khan. Moshin played 9 games this season and took 14 wickets but what was outstanding about his performance was his economy rate of 5.96. It is incredible for a fast bowler to bowl quick and also have a low economy rate as well. It would have been great to see him bowl for India at least against Ireland and Zimbabwe to see how good he can be at the international level. Umran Malik also impressed everyone with his pace. That x-factor is what which got him into the Indian XI quicker than expected. Agreed that his first 3 games did not go well but again India need to make sure such a talent is not ignored. He had a great IPL where he picked up 22 wickets at 14.
The other bowler who India completely ignored was Umesh Yadav who also had a great IPL 2022. His economy rate was just over 7 and he picked up 16 wickets in the tournament. Umesh Yadav decided to play county cricket this year and did exceedingly well with the ball in the Royal London Cup. Agreed that Mohammed Shami hasn’t had the best of times in this format for India but again he has lots of experience in white ball cricket and has been a constant performer in IPL. He once again had a good IPL season this time around picking 20 wickets at an economy rate of 8. Khaleel Ahmed who has represented India in the past in limited overs format also had a great IPL with better stats than Avesh Khan. Now the question to be asked is whether picking Avesh Khan was a wise decision for the Asia Cup. India haven’t picked any other pacer in their main squad which means that they cannot swap him over with a replacement through the reminder of the tournament.
The signs were there through this year. I understand that Avesh Khan looks a great prospect. He can bowl quick, when he does well he picks up wickets but again those performances are rare and he most often than not gets taken for lots of runs. There is a pattern when we look at his overall stats. He played 3 ODIs for India and went for 7.74 runs in them. His List A economy rate is 5.64 and his overall T20 economy rate is 8.14. So this begs the question what was the rationale in picking him as the sole third seamer for a competition like Asia Cup?
India have moved on to the super 4 stage of the competition and it will be interesting to see if they continue to play Avesh Khan in those games as well. With Hardik Pandya back to bowling at full tilt there probably is a chance of playing Ravi Bishnoi or Ravichandran Ashwin as the third spinner in the XI instead of Avesh Khan. I feel that his performance against Hong Kong should make the management think whether they should continue to pick him in the XI for the rest of the tournament. The team management and the selectors need to realise that we are not in the 90’s where there was a dearth of fast bowlers in the country. India now boasts of great talent at the domestic level which hasn’t been properly explored. There are great bowling options available for India if they want to try them out and give them a chance. India did pick Arshdeep Singh who comparatively had a very poor IPL 2022 but again he has shown that he has the skills to succeed at this level with proper guidance.
India still has some time before the World T20 and I hope that some sense prevails and right backup pacers are picked. Australia is a tough place to bowl fast and India would need bowlers who can hit the deck and keep runs in check as well. Avesh in his limited time with the Indian team has shown that he cannot consistently provide that control. I am not saying that we should discard Avesh Khan permanently but again at this moment he isn’t the right choice for India in this format.
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Before we search for an answer to the question in the title, let’s look at the last two world tournaments India have been part of. After a heartbreaking loss at the 2017 Champions Trophy India made a host of changes in the years leading up to the World Cup in England. Most of the changes were welcomed by the fans and experts alike. The biggest failure of the Kohli-Shastri era in the limited overs format was their lack of patience.
When we look back at the 2019 WC, fans might say that India did very well. You cannot argue with them as the team reached the semi-finals in one of the toughest formats in recent times. India won most of the games in the league stage and were comfortable entrants into the knockouts. While the above was true, the wins in the league format just papered over the cracks which existed in the squad ahead of the tournament. While all of us wanted India to do well and win everyone knew the squad picked wasn’t right.
In the 2018/19 season India were touring Australia where the former managed to win their first Test series down under. Not only did they win the Test series, they also won the ODI series there. From Australia India travelled to New Zealand where they once again won the ODI series 4-1. The success of the above two mentioned wins along with an impressive 5-1 in South Africa a year ago was due to the fact that the Indian top order was in blistering form. The bowling was doing exceptionally well with Kuldeep & Chahal picking up wickets with their spin in the middle overs. Ambati Rayudu was India’s preferred number 4 and even though Virat hardly played the same XI in two consecutive games, the team did look settled.
The series in Australia & New Zealand was just a few months before the World Cup and for some reason every thing went haywire between those series and the WC in England. The squad selection was all over the place and India discarded Rayudu who was with the team for 2 years prior to that and picked Vijay Shankar from nowhere. Rishabh Pant made it to the squad as well despite not doing much in LOIs prior to the tournament. India did enter the tournament banking a lot of the top 3 which showed in their performances through the tournament. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan were all in great form and they did kind of drag India to wins in the early part of the tournament and helped mask the mess which was the middle order.
India did get a glimpse of what could happen against Afghanistan but again a narrow win in that game made sure they did not learn much from it. The biggest problem for India was that for 2 years after Champions Trophy India failed to settle the middle order. The top order form meant that middle order hardly had to do much and players who were part of the teams over that time were discarded prior to the tournament. Shreyas Iyer who had some good games for India lost his place, so did Rayudu who did well for India averaging 50 over that time. The squad selection was so absurd that India ended up playing 3 genuine wicket keepers in the semi-finals against New Zealand. The injury to Shikhar Dhawan did not help India’s cause but again you don’t go to a tournament without a proper replacement for the openers. KL Rahul who started in the middle order was moved up to open and that left a huge hole in the middle order in the absence of Ambati Rayudu who was playing at that spot for 2 years prior to that tournament.
Vijay Shankar who played the first few games was discarded and India started playing random players in the middle order. When the top order failed in the semi-final the inexperienced middle order struggled to pull India out of the hole they dug themselves into way before the match began. The 2021 WC was similar in the sense, India went in with an unsettled batting order again depending on the top order who this time weren’t in form. The 2022 T20 WC in Australia unfortunately resembles the chaos India had before the 2019 WC. India’s first choice top 3 aren’t in greatest of forms and KL Rahul hasn’t played for a while.
The middle order isn’t any better with a host of names being thrown around but the only solace for India is the return to form of Y Chahal and Hardik Pandya. Majority of Indian first choice players are resting for this series against West Indies and for sure will not travel to Zimbabwe as well. This would leave a bunch of undercooked players turning up for the tournament with many of them not in form leading up to it.
I have lots of respect for Rahul Dravid as a coach but I feel he needs to make sure the mistakes of the last two tournaments aren’t repeated this time as well. Virat Kohli is a sure shot selection for the T20 WC but has no runs behind him leading up to the tournament and he isn’t playing any games right now. Rohit Sharma is shaky form and he isn’t playing much games either. KL Rahul is injured and hasn’t played much this year either. These are worrying signs. India are basically playing the next two series with second string teams with many of them vying for a spot in the squad. Squad selection is crucial and I hope players who have been performing well over the past year are given priority. Shreyas Iyer & Suryakumar Yadav should be in the squad and so should Deepak Hooda who will most probably play the games leading up to the WC.
India also need to make sure they have appropriate backups for each position and do not go in expecting there will be no injrues. Shubman Gill needs to be in the squad as well as an opener. The WC is still 3 months away but with limited games in hand, the selectors along with coach/captain combo need to make sure they pick the right players for the tournament. India have struggled to win major tournaments for a while now and this year will be crucial for Rohit/Rahul combo. They have had a good run in ODI/T20’s but again WC is a completely different challenge to the bilateral series they have been winning. India need to figure out their ideal playing XI which cannot be done with majority of the payers resting for most of the year. WC isn’t the place to experiment and if India want to make a mark in this world cup, they need to make sure they know what their best playing XI will be.
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I am a big Virat Kohli fan and like everyone I want him to come back to form and score loads of runs for team India. Since his last hundred against Bangladesh in 2019, Virat has struggled in Tests mostly but has had decent success in other two formats until recently. The home series and the one which just concluded in England hasn’t been very kind in terms of runs for the former captain. The problem also has been that in between these poor performances, Virat hasn’t been playing too much cricket. He did play in the IPL this year though with limited success for RCB.
After another poor series against England earlier this month, Virat has once again requested for a break thereby missing the series against West Indies. Over the past year or so the Indian superstar has hardly played any international cricket or otherwise except for the IPL. This is why these constant breaks need to be taken with a pinch of salt. As a star player in the team and one of the leading players in the world a prolonged struggle for runs mean you either play as many games as you can or try to improve form in domestic cricket away from the spotlight. Virat hasn’t done either over the last couple of years.
While the reason for Cheteshwar Pujara to represent Sussex might have been due to the lack of interest from the franchises to pick him, it is at least commendable that he forced his way back into the Test XI with performances. Virat Kohli hasn’t played much domestic cricket nor has he expressed any desire to play county cricket to try and get back some form. While mental fatigue might be one of the reasons for players to lose form, Virat’s issues seems technical too. The way he has been getting out in all formats over the past couple years shows that his weakness outside off stump has returned.
I am not saying that Virat isn’t working on his chinks but again practicing in the nets can only take you that far. It will be wonderful if Virat gets back his form and starts scoring runs again as that will make India much stronger in all formats but breaks aren’t going to help him achieve that. Rohit in no uncertain terms has confirmed that Virat Kohli will be part of the Indian XIs despite his lack of runs, so we will for sure see him in the team once he is available. The question now will be how long will that rope be extended to the legend before it runs out? The question only the team management can answer or maybe they don’t have to if Virat starts scoring runs again.
Can Virat bounce back from this rut?
Posted on: June 6, 2022
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The first time I saw Virat Kohli bat was in the 2008 ODI series against Sri Lanka. A series made famous by Ajantha Mendis who tormented the Indian team throughout that tour. Virat was pushed to open the batting with Gautam Gambhir in the absence of the seniors and as a 19 year old playing on some unusually bowling friendly conditions he showed a lot of composure. Since then Virat was marked for greatness and for the next decade he did not disappoint.
Virat had to wait a year before he became a permanent fixture in the Limited Overs format but he had to wait a little longer in Tests. His breakthrough series came in Australia in 2011/12 after a poor outing in West Indies in 2011. Virat even at a very young age came across as someone who always wanted to succeed. He was aggressive and mentally strong, a product of that time in a team which was lead by MS Dhoni.
In just couple of years he Virat became the leader of the new age Indian Test middle order post the retirement of the greats. Him along with Pujara and Rahane became the face of Indian batting for the next decade. Virat loved Test cricket and he did not shy away from making that known to everyone. From the time he took over the captaincy from MS Dhoni in the middle of the 2015 series against Australia he always wanted to make India a force in the format. He started to work on his fitness thereby inspiring the next generation of Indian cricketers and brought about the change in the mindset of the team.
His confidence in the pace bowlers meant that India went from a bunch of spray guns to bowlers who could hunt in pairs and make life difficult for the opposition. After the 2015 Australian series, Virat asked his bowlers to watch Josh Hazlewood who not only bowled economically but also ended up with the best average among pacers in the series. Virat always had the hunger to keep improving himself and you could see that in his preparation. After his disastrous 2014 tour of England, he made it a point that he wouldn’t do the same mistake when he toured again in 2018.
From that series in Australia in 2012 till 2019 November (Month of his last international hundred) Virat scored more international runs than any other player in the world. His 17872 runs were scored at 60.99 with an incredible 62 tons. He not only became the best all-format batter at that time but also transformed the Indian Test team into number 1 team in the world. The Indian pace attack became the best in the world and Indian became the flagbearer for Test cricket.
But again when things were going brilliantly for Virat the batsman & the captain, things took a turn after the home series against Bangladesh in 2019. Virat’s batting form started to dip and while India continued to be a good Test side the collective failures of the experienced middle order became the topic of discussion. Virat is yet to score a hundred in any format since November 2019 his 2478 international runs during that time came at 37 with no centuries. His ODI & Test form were the most affected while his T20I record still remained good.
His dip in form meant that Virat also relinquished his Test captaincy after the series loss in South Africa earlier this year, this also meant that he was forced out of the LOI leadership as well. Virat has always been this fighter who always proved his doubters wrong but this time it does feel that he probably lost that hunger to improve. His weakness outside offstump which he fought so hard to improve upon after that 2014 series in England has returned and this time it has started to affect his limited overs batting as well.
His performance in this ongoing IPL further highlights his struggles. He has struggled to score runs this season and when did score, he has struggled to maintain a good strike rate. He has had 3 first ball dismissals this season as well which hasn’t happened ever in his career. The year 2022 is an important one for India and with the T20 world cup around the corner, India would need Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to be in good form with the bat to guide a young team.
Virat still has at least 2-3 years of cricket left in him but I do expect him to retire at least from one format soon. His Test record has taken the most hit and with his average dropping below 50, couple more failures in the upcoming season might see him bid adieu to the format. It will be sad if Virat isn’t able to turn this form around to finish his career with an average of 50+ which he so deserves.
Virat did have a spark at the end of the the IPL with a match winning 70 odd in a must win game for the RCB but again there wasn’t much else after that. While as fans we would love for him to get back to his pomp but again it will all depend of what Virat Kohli wants from his career here on in. It will be disappointing if Virat hangs up his boots without 10K Test runs at 50+ average, so the hope is that he will be able to have that one last dash towards greatness.
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My Thoughts 