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Follow UsThe bilaterals have returned, and India have clinched another one, beating Australia in the five-match T20I series at home 4-1. While it is a win worth celebrating, the bigger picture lies far ahead at the T20 World Cup, right after the 2024 IPL.
After this series win against Australia, the Men in Blue are scheduled for only six more T20Is before the World Cup - three against the host nation South Africa and three against Afghanistan at home. The Indian players will hone their skills in the IPL but will miss preparing as a unit. Hence, the five matches against Australia were key to India’s blueprint for their next attempt to win an ICC trophy.
However, despite nailing the series 4-1, multiple boxes have been left unchecked, as if the management prioritised winning another bilateral series at home over assessing a few dynamics of their squad.
To start with, India could have tried a few more players. In comparison, Australia played all the 19 players on the board for this series. They gave an extended run time to the newbies - Aaron Hardie, Matt Short, Tanveer Sangha and Ben Dwarshuis. After years of grind, Chris Green also earned a debut based on his experience in the CPL circuit (Caribbean Premier League) in West Indies, the venue for the T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, India missed out on the same regard and a few other boxes.
No matches for Sundar and Dube?
India had 17 players at their disposal but used only 15 of them. The startling aspect is that the two players who warmed the bench throughout these five matches are all-rounders - Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube.
All-rounder is a critical position for the Men in Blue, given the lack of players in that category. The scarcity of players who can contribute with both bat and ball has been one of the ubiquitous headaches for the management in most big tournaments. To create more options in that department, it should have been of prime importance for India in this series.
Axar Patel was the only proper all-rounder who featured for India, playing all five matches. The hosts could have benched him for a few games for Sundar, another spin-bowling all-rounder. Sundar is part of both white-ball teams to tour South Africa but will have stiff competition for a spot: versus Ravindra Jadeja in T20Is and Axar in ODIs.
Therefore, Sundar’s chances of making it to the T20 World Cup seem slim, which is strange given he can bat anywhere in the order alongside delivering crucial over of off-spin, a specific kind of player India have missed on their radar. And it was not long back when Sundar was trusted to bat in a finisher’s role in the ODI side.
Furthermore, Axar playing all five matches against Australia but missing the subsequent T20I series against South Africa leads to contradicting conclusions.
No sixth bowling option?
India used only five bowlers in each of the five T20Is. While it is a consequence of benching Sundar and Dube, it was also surprising to see India not use the secondary skills of Tilak Varma and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Both these young batters can roll their arm over if required. Jaiswal is a leg-break bowler, and Tilak is an occasional off-spinner.
Jaiswal has bowled one over in 13 T20Is for India, and Tilak has only four in as many games. These are India’s best options to create bowling options from frontline batters. You can sense the need for the same in how Australia played the series, ensuring their batting all-rounders Hardie, Short, and Marcus Stoinis all have a few overs under their belts.
A missed opportunity to polish Tilak?
Shreyas Iyer’s return for the last two T20Is came at the expense of Tilak Varma. Already seen as a potential replacement at number three for Virat Kohli if required, these were the first two T20Is Iyer played this year. It puts Iyer’s credentials as a T20 batter under the scanner. The right-hander averages 32 in his 199-match long T20 career thus far at a strike rate of 130.4. These numbers put him in the bracket of an anchor reflected in his T20I career for India as well - average 30.7, strike rate 136.1.
In his favour, Iyer is an excellent batter of slow bowling, elevating his chance for success in the West Indies. However, when India last toured West Indies a few months back, Tilak, in his debut series, was the highest run-scorer for India. His 173 runs in five innings came at an average and strike rate of 57.7 and 140.7, respectively. The left-hander’s good returns also put him in contention to be a last-minute entry in India’s World Cup squad.
Tilak struggled in the first three T20Is against Australia, but given his all-round skills and long-term vision, the series was a missed opportunity to polish a high-utility player.
