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Follow UsThe selection conundrums that India face
Open with Jaiswal-Rohit, or open with Kohli-Rohit and fit in Shivam Dube?
India’s top five will comprise four specialist batters and a wicketkeeper batter. Among the four, three specialist batters are locks — Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav.
For the fourth spot, then, it’s a direct battle between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube.
If Jaiswal plays, he opens with Rohit. That will likely leave no space for Dube in the XI because Kohli, Suryakumar, Pant/Samson and Hardik Pandya will complete the middle-order.
But if Jaiswal is dropped, Kohli will then open with Rohit and that will open up space in the middle-order for Dube to slot in.
It will come down to what the management really thinks they need. If they feel Jaiswal’s explosiveness up top will be more valuable to the side than Dube’s (potential) six-hitting in the middle overs, then YJB will get the nod.
Going by what happened in the last T20I series India played — against Afghanistan where Rohit & Jaiswal opened — Jaiswal getting the nod looks likely.
That being said, opening with Kohli & Rohit will open up all sorts of possibilities. Dube can play, yes, but this scenario will also open up the possibility of one of Samson/Pant playing as a specialist batter. Kohli opening the batting will likely make India’s middle order dynamic and unpredictable.
However, a Kohli-Rohit opening stand also comes with the risk of the team getting bogged down in the powerplay. After the disaster that unfolded in the 2022 T20 World Cup, you feel India would much rather die swinging in the powerplay rather than failing due to being conservative.
Samson or Pant - who will be the first-choice wicketkeeper?
As stated above, there’s a scenario in which both Samson and Pant could feature in the XI. But that’s bound to be pretty unlikely. For now, it feels like a direct shootout between the two for the wicketkeeper’s slot.
As it stands, Pant looks to be the frontrunner due to the role he’s playing for Delhi Capitals.
The wicketkeeper needing to slot in at No.5 could just end up working against Samson, who this season has played every single innings at No.3. He’s fared exceptionally well, of course, but Samson has been more of a top-order batter in IPL 2024.
In comparison, Pant has batted four times at No.4, five times at No.5 and once at No.6. In the five innings he’s batted at No.5, he’s smashed 187 runs at a strike rate of 183.3.
Overall, in IPL 2024, Pant has faced 55 more balls outside the powerplay than Samson.
So, by virtue of the roles they’ve been playing, Pant might be the first choice due to his DC role being similar to what he’ll be expected to do for India.
But who among Pant/Samson plays might also likely depend on whether Dube starts.
The presence of Dube in the XI will mean a left-hander present in the Top four, so that could boost the chances of the right-handed Samson.
But should Dube not be in the XI, then Pant might be an automatic pick to fill the void of the left-hander. Dube and Pant both not being in the XI will mean right-handers at #3, #4, #5 and #6, which would be problematic.
Axar or Jadeja - who will be the first-choice pick at No.7?
There’s a realistic scenario in which both Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel play, but we’ll get to that later. Assuming India only pick one spin bowling allrounder, who will they go for — Axar or Jadeja?
Reputation and experience-wise, Jadeja will be the automatic pick. Jadeja, mind you, was vice-captain of India for the three-match T20I series against South Africa in December, a series for which Axar was dropped. The 35-year-old has played very little T20I cricket in the past two years, but it’s clear that the management holds him in high regard.
At the same time, Axar has been nothing short of fantastic in the T20Is he’s played for India in the past 18 months. Since 2023, he has taken 15 wickets in 14 T20I innings at an economy of 6.8. Not only that, he’s averaged 27.14 with the bat while striking at 157.
Jadeja (202 runs at 50.5/135.6) has fared better than Axar (149 runs at 24.83/124.2) with the bat in IPL 2024 but the Delhi Capitals man has slightly been better with the ball (9 wickets at avg 29.8/ E.R 7.2) than his senior compatriot (8 wickets at avg 34.4/ E.R 7.3), despite playing in far more batting-friendly surfaces.
It’s a tricky call that’s going to be very tight. At this point, who among Axar/Jadeja starts is anybody's guess.
Bowling combination conundrums
Three spinners + two pacers and Pandya or two spinners + three pacers and Pandya?
This will likely depend on the conditions. One would reckon that, on a flat track, India will want to have the option of an extra specialist seamer. But the presence of Hardik Pandya will enable them to play three spinners (two more outside of Jadeja/Axar) on dry surfaces.
Now, who will be the three spinners? And what’s the pecking order of the pacers? That’s a headache that the management will have to solve.
Spin combinations in case India decide to play three spinners
a) Axar, Jadeja & Kuldeep b) Jadeja, Kuldeep, Chahal c) Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal d) Axar, Jadeja, Chahal
As tempting as it might be, the likelihood of KulCha playing together seems unlikely merely because it will mean Kuldeep batting at No.8 — at least one (if not two) spot high for him in T20 cricket.
All things considered, the combo of Axar-Jadeja-Kuldeep seems the most likely one to feature in case India decide to field three spinners. This will give the side both 12 overs of spin and excellent batting depth, with one of Axar/Jadeja slated to come in at No.8.
At this point, Chahal is clearly second-choice behind Kuldeep when it comes to the wrist spinners. But should Kuldeep pick up a niggle or fall sick at the wrong time, the trio of Axar-Jadeja-Chahal might end up featuring.
Who will be the second pacer if India decide to play three spinners?
India only have three seamers in the squad. So all of Bumrah, Siraj and Arshdeep will play whenever the side fields three seamers. But who among Siraj and Arshdeep will partner Bumrah in case the side decides to go with just two seamers?
Both Siraj and Arshdeep will predominantly be expected to bowl in the powerplay if they are partnering with Bumrah, and to be fair, both have been used by their respective franchises as powerplay enforcers as well. This might just come down to who is in better form closer to the T20WC.
The left-arm angle might just end up giving Arshdeep the edge, though, because Siraj playing will mean India will have three right-armers in the XI (Bumrah, Siraj and Pandya).
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