Wednesday, November 16, 2022

India need to reset as road to 2024 T20 World Cup begins in New Zealand

Heartbroken after yet another debacle in a major ICC tournament, India will now aim to start afresh when they tour New Zealand for an upcoming T20I and ODI series, which will consist of three games each. The tour will commence on November 18 with the T20I series being played first.

Following the flak Rohit Sharma-led Team India faced for the humiliating 10-wicket loss against England in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final, there have been calls for changes, thus India will be keen on rebuilding the side from the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand.

Time for transition

India will be without main players like regular captain Rohit Sharma, opener KL Rahul, talismanic batter Virat Kohli, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik and ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the T20I series. Hardik Pandya will lead the side consisting of a lot of youngsters as Indian cricket gears up for much-needed transition, at least in the shortest format.

The series is a golden opportunity for Hardik to convince the management that he is ready to permanently take over as India T20I captain after many former India cricketers, including Krishnamachari Srikkanth, rallied behind the all-rounder’s elevation. Hardik has led Gujarat Titans to the elusive IPL title in their maiden season which is a big plus on his CV.

In the absence of some senior players, the likes of Shubman Gill, Umran Malik, Ishan Kishan, and Sanju Samson have been given a chance and Pandya says it will be an important series for them in the grand scheme of things.

“The main boys are not here but at the same time the talent which the guys who are already here, they have also been playing for one-and-a-half, two years now,” he said. “They have had ample chances and enough time in international cricket to express themselves and show what they have. Very excited for them, new bunch of guys, new energy, and excitement.”

Going by Hardik’s statement, one thing is for sure – the Indian squad is expected to undergo a major transition in the next two years.

The roadmap for the 2024 T20 World Cup starts now

The T20I series against New Zealand will also mark the start of India’s road to the next edition of T20 World Cup in 2024, which will be jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA.

Ahead of the series opener, Pandya has himself asserted that the road map for the 2024 T20 World Cup starts now, adding that going forward a lot of players will be given chances to stake their claim in the side.

”Yes, the next T20 WC is almost two years so we have time (to unearth new talent). A lot of cricket will be played and a lot of people will get enough chances. The road map starts from now. But it’s too fresh right now. We have a lot of time so we will sit down and have conversations on those grounds,” Pandya said.

‘Intent’ is all that matters

It’s high time that India not only learn from their past mistakes but also rectify them. The Men in Blue’s most recent mistake was the lack of intent which ultimately cost them a place in the final of the T20 World Cup.

The ‘attack brand of cricket’ which was advertised by Team India ahead of the marquee ICC event in Australia seemed like a fake election promise and the assured ‘fearless approach’ remained a pipe dream for the most part of the tournament.

India had the second-lowest powerplay run rate (6.03) in the entire competition with only UAE being worse in that aspect of the game. While Rohit struggled to get going in the entire tournament, Rahul was very inconsistent and cautious at top of the order.

India scored at 6 runs per over in the powerplay in the T20 World Cup. This increased to 8.1 runs in the middle overs and 11.9 runs in the last five overs.

In the bowling department, India paid the price for not playing Yuzvendra Chahal throughout the tournament even when leg-spinners from other teams dominated the proceedings. Also, the Men in Blue missed the trick by not picking someone like Umran Malik as the lack of pace was evident in the Indian attack and teams like England and South Africa took full advantage of this shortcoming.

The onus now is upon a new bunch of players to show that they can practice what they preach. As far as batting is concerned, the focus will be on Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan in New Zealand to get rid of the conservative approach at the top so that the middle order doesn’t have to do the repair job in every game. The openers must and will have to play an attacking brand of cricket if they aim to be part of the squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Also, going forward, India should trust and opt for the combination of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal as both have brilliant record bowling in tandem and have performed well in the middle overs – an area where India struggled in the last two World Cups.

In the pace department, the Men in Blue need to have one bowler in the squad who can bowl express pace just to keep the batters guessing and make them uncomfortable. Given his exploits in IPL, Umran Malik is definitely such a speedster and India need to prepare him well for the next T20 World Cup.

Management should also come up with a plan and strategy to develop other pacers in the lot. The likes of Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, and Mohammed Siraj need to be managed well so that India are not dependent on a single bowler in a multi-nation event.

The selectors and team management must work on creating a pool of players who are multi-dimensional. The injuries to Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah messed up the side’s combination months before the T20 World Cup in Australia and the team, despite having Hardik, surely felt the absence of another proper all-rounder.

With Karthik unlikely to feature in another T20I for India, Rishabh Pant will also have to show that management can bet on him in the coming years as he has been named Pandya’s deputy for the New Zealand T20Is.



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