OPINION
Follow UsWill Avesh Khan make his debut?
Ever since making a breakthrough in the Indian Premier League, Avesh Khan has been a piece of puzzle in Indian cricket. Despite making his way to England and South Africa, the Indore-born pacer has only found himself on the bench. The 25-year-old was a constant threat to the opposition in the cash-rich league, and was expected to make his debut in India’s home series against New Zealand.
With Harshal Patel too making an impact in the three T20Is against New Zealand, how will India go about their things in the series against West Indies? In Avesh and Harshal, India will have two of the best bowlers from the 2021 IPL. Would India be tempted to pair the two wicket-takers with Deepak Chahar, a prime option in the powerplay?
While most of Avesh’s wickets have come at the death, in Bumrah’s absence, India could do with his raw pace and aggression. It would be the perfect opportunity for Rohit Sharma, the captain to unleash one of India’s biggest ‘X-factor’ bowler ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.
India need to define Virat Kohli’s role in the T20I setup
Defining a role for Virat Kohli should be India’s biggest concerns heading into the T20 World Cup. Since the start of IPL 2020, only Shreyas Iyer has batted at a slower rate at No.3 than Kohli, which brings about a big problem for India.
Over the years, Kohli’s ability to play spin has hindered teams, which was evidently visible in the last two IPL editions, with a strike-rate of 105.4, the second-worst in the competition. With KL Rahul at the top of the Indian batting unit, the player with the worst strike-rate in the last two editions of the IPL against spin, India will have a problem of intent.
On the other end of the spectrum is Suryakumar Yadav, who has a great record against the tweakers. Should India continue batting Kohli at No.3 in the shortest format? The answer being: no, India should pick out a page from Australia’s T20I books, with how they have played Steve Smith.
Smith’s T20 record in the last two years has been underwhelming but despite that shortcoming, Australia have found an apt role for the former skipper. In restricting Smith’s role as an anchor, the 2021 World T20 champions, only utilize the right-hander in a situation of bother.
In conditions that support batting, Australia have extracted the best out of Mitchell Marsh, at No.3, a move that India could deploy with Suryakumar. Not only can the Mumbaikar find boundaries with ease against pace but could also tackle spin, which will bring about a change in India’s T20I approach.
India’s search for a spin-combination
India have tried as many as five spinners in the recent past – including bringing back Ravichandran Ashwin in the shortest format. The three home matches against New Zealand saw the return of Axar Patel in the white-ball format but is India’s search for a dream spin-combination finally coming to an end?
The answer is yes and no. In Ravindra Jadeja’s absence, India could very well do with Axar in the same role but is that the solution? With Washington Sundar returning, is that India’s solution for an off-spinner? Along the same lines, the other lingering question being, is Yuzvendra Chahal now undisputedly India’s best spinner?
Statistically, since the start of 2021, Ashwin has picked the most wickets (nine) in Indian colours followed by Jadeja (seven). With Chahal only picking five wickets since the start of the last year, is his place as the No.1 spinner in the side justified? In the 2021 edition of the IPL, the Haryana leg-spinner finished as the joint highest wicket-taker in the competition, with 18 wickets.
Will Chahal still find his place as the first-choice or Rohit be interested in grooming the next generation Ravi Bishnoi?
Will India still persist with Venkatesh Iyer?
All of India’s preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia began with the series against New Zealand. Be it the choice of bowlers, spinners or all-rounders. In conditions that aided the spinners last time around, would Rohit still be working his way around to fit the all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer?
On the back of a breakthrough season for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Iyer made his name in the cricketing circuit before the big Indian debut in the shortest format. India viewed him as a viable replacement for the out-of-form Hardik Pandya. But with India’s confidence in Iyer dying out after just two games in ODIs, would he still walk out for the T20 World Cup in Australia?
In the limited opportunity, India have not yet been able to extract the best out of Iyer, given that the best of his batting abilities is at the top of the order. That is also one of the major reasons behind Ishan Kishan’s exclusion from the playing XI.
And Iyer’s bowling is largely untested at the highest level, which begs the question, how will India fit him in the playing XI? In all possibility, Iyer could find himself out of the reckoning, with India deciding to field either of Deepak Chahar or Shardul Thakur in that role, replacing the left-hander with a batting option.
Is experimentation on India’s cards?
Throughout the ODI series, India made it clear that they are ready with experimentation, be it with Rishabh Pant opening or Washington Sundar being promoted ahead of Deepak Hooda. On similar lines, it would be interesting to see if India do hand debuts during the series, given the hectic calendar that lies in front of them.
In that regard, India have the option of picking either of Ishan Kishan or Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top of the order, to partner Rohit Sharma. In the middle-order, it would be interesting to see if the management decide to rest Kohli, giving Shreyas Iyer a run.
On the bowling front of things, would India stick with their guns or play the likes of Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj and Ravi Bishnoi in Kolkata, with an eye for the future? While India might have shown glimpses of experimentation during the ODI series, there might be a case against it in the T20I series, considering the T20 World Cup is around the corner.
