PREVIEW
Follow UsIndia’s hunt for an ICC trophy has turned into an agonizing pain for Indian fans. They should have checked the box last year during the 50-over World Cup, but a heartbreaking defeat in the final has only made that pain more excruciating.
The T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and Caribbean is India’s last chance at a trophy in this four-year cycle of a World Cup event every year. Moreover, it is most definitely, the final chance for players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have defined an entire decade of Indian cricket, to win a World Cup after gaining the superstar status.
In the past, India have been criticised for making wrong calls, big players not stepping up on big days, and not being proactive about the aging skills of their senior players. With plenty of youngsters in this team, and almost two contenders for every batting spot in the top five, that proactiveness will come into the equation given T20 World Cups are short tournaments.
But the biggest hurdle for the Men in Blue would be to cross the line in knockout games, which have been India’s Achilles heel. They play their first match against Ireland on June 5 but one of the strongest contenders to make the semi-finals, India’s tournament will begin at the knockout stage in its true sense. Nothing except the trophy would suffice.
What can win them the trophy?
Bumrah & Kuldeep
India have arguably the best all-format seamer in Jasprit Bumrah alongside an efficient set of spinners for the Caribbean conditions.
To begin with Bumrah, he doesn’t depend on the pitch as much as a heavy majority of other fast bowlers in this World Cup. In an intent-driven Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, where the mean economy for pace bowlers was 10.01 runs per over, Bumrah conceded at only 6.5. Not just in controlling runs, the right-armer can also produce wickets, as his 20 wickets at 16.8 runs apiece indicate. Bumrah hasn’t played many T20Is recently, but in his last 10 appearances in the format, dating back to the 2021 T20 World Cup, he has an economy of seven or lower in every phase of the innings.
Among spinners, Kuldeep Yadav is the best left-arm wrist-spinner by a distance and is among the best wrist-spinners in white-ball cricket at present. 14 leg break bowlers from Test-playing nations have snaffled more than 10 T20I wickets since 2022. Kuldeep has the second-best economy (6) and the best bowling average (13.8) in the lot. He bowled many impactful spells for Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2024 and has a superb record in T20Is in West Indies (5 wickets, 16.4 average, 6.8 economy).
The finger spinners of the spin unit – Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel — are great match-up bowlers against right-handed batters but have not been in their peak wicket-taking form, averaging less than one wicket per game in T20s since last year. There is a similar uncertainty around Bumrah’s pace-bowling comrades. Both Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh have been hit-and-miss in the format for a few years.
Hence, India rely heavily on the wicket-taking abilities of Bumrah and Kuldeep. While it would be a heavy workload for the duo but if both click to the expectation level, they can cover up multiple chinks in the bowling lineup.
What can eliminate them?
Death overs batting
The death overs’ batting can be India’s Achilles Heel in this World Cup. In T20Is since 2023, India have the second-best strike rate at the death - 189.1. However, nearly 31% of these runs have come from Rinku Singh (211 runs from 98 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (146 runs from 74 balls). Rinku is not a part of the squad (he is selected only in reserves) and Surya’s batting spot is in the top four.
Both designated finishers – Hardik Pandya and Jadeja — were inconsistent in this role for their respective teams in the recently concluded IPL season. In fact, Pandya scored only 50 runs in this phase, registering the lowest death overs batting average in IPL 2024. Jadeja had a number of pedestrian batting efforts in this phase.
India can extend their batting by playing Axar Patel at number eight. But, if Pandya had the worst batting average at the death, Axar had the lowest strike rate in the competition.
Overall, the uninspiring strike rates of the lower half of India’s middle order in the IPL don’t exude much confidence. The trio did not even score 300 runs put together in the death overs. India will hope Surya bats long enough to finish the innings on a strong note without compromising his striking ability in the middle overs.
Things to watch out for
- India’s combination
- Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s form in their last World Cup
- Rishabh Pant’s return to India’s T20 setup
Tactical MVP
India can frame their XI in two ways (to be discussed later in the piece). Hardik has to be the third seamer if they play three spinners, including Axar alongside Jadeja and Kuldeep. If the Men in Blue keep Axar on the bench, then Hardik is the sixth bowling option and the fourth seamer.
In both cases, Pandya creates a sixth bowling option without compromising their batting resources. Yes, India also have Shivam Dube in the squad as an additional seam-bowling all-rounder. However, he is much inferior to Pandya in terms of pace and the amount of bowling in his kitty.
Not to forget despite his disappointing batting display in the IPL, he is still the most natural striker of the ball in India’s lower order. Pandya, thus, is vital to India’s chances to field their most efficient XI for any condition.
Probable first-choice XI
The bowling combinations give India two options for their Playing XIs, but the management has bigger questions about framing the batting lineup.
The first question would be about the wicketkeeper’s slot between Sanju Samson and Rishabh Pant. Samson scored over 500 runs in IPL 2024, and meanwhile, Pant, returning after a long injury lay-off, was hit and miss throughout the competition. Both have different slots in the batting order.
Also, will Kohli open or bat at three? Yashasvi Jaiswal had a poor IPL and we might see Rohit and Kohli open through the World Cup. Meanwhile, assuming Arshdeep is behind Siraj on the pace-bowling front, he would be picked only when India field three frontline pacers.
Probable XI #1 (three spinners, three seamers, provides batting till number 8):
Rohit Sharma ( c ), Virat Kohli, Sanju Samson (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Probable XI #2 (two spinners, four seamers, provides batting till number 7):
Rohit Sharma ( c ), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj
Group Games Schedule
India vs Ireland, June 5, New York
India vs Pakistan, June 9, New York
India vs USA, June 12, New York
India vs Canada, June 15, Lauderhill
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