India will enter the 2023 World Cup as favourites to win the title. But, they still have concerns which could keep them from claiming their first ICC trophy in a decade, writes Sarah Waris.
It should be India. The players are all peaking at the right time and they’re playing in front of their adoring home fans who have seen them win 15 out of their last 18 ODIs at home.
With less than 10 days left, the excitement is palpable as teams rush to finalize their squads and name last-minute replacements for injured players. India, on the other hand, seemed to have little worry as they brought in regular players Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul.
But we’ve seen it all before. In the last decade, India initially performed well in ICC tournaments but failed at crucial moments. There’s reason to think this time too won’t be the fairy tale journey promised.
Is the third spinner a worry?
Axar Patel is in a race against time to qualify for the tournament after being ruled out of the third ODI against Australia. India is considering R Ashwin as his successor. He has a wealth of experience and is considered to be perhaps India’s biggest winner in domestic Test cricket over the past decade.
However, his ODI career was not that simple. He was guilty of bowling the defensive line in the middle overs, which kept him out of the ODI squad since 2017, and he played just two 50-over games for India in six years before returning last week. There wasn’t.
Ashwin’s ODI average in the 15-35+ category is close to 40. His batting average is 52.8, but his strike rate of 51 shows that batsmen can outshine him, giving him utility as a striker-for-bowlers to destroy. With Ravindra Jadeja also struggling with wickets, India risks going into the World Cup with both spinners lacking match practice and confidence.
Ashwin’s selection seems aimed at providing a safe cushion to a team that tends to revert to warriors in times of crisis. Mohammed Shami was said to be left out of the T20I squad, but he replaced the injured Jasprit Bumrah in last year’s T20 World Cup. This approach rarely pays off, with Shami reaching 7.15 overs in this tournament and in as many matches he took 6 wickets.
Even if Axar arrives in time and Ashwin is not selected, India will be playing in the World Cup with two similar bowlers, Jadeja and Axar. Both are orthodox left-handed, with left-handed Kuldeep Yadav able to spin the ball, but the rotation attack still lacks versatility.
Axar’s bowling wasn’t the best either. Although he improved his batting skills, he took only four wickets in eight ODIs this year, averaging 59 wickets. India have also been hesitant to play both him and Jadeja against left-handed players, resulting in them being underutilized.
Is Jadeja’s batting form a worry?
Jadeja has made great strides in Test cricket, but his ODI batting remains a concern. He hasn’t had 50 hits in 13 innings, but his average batting average in that span is 27.14. The fact that he mostly hits his 7s alleviates this problem somewhat, but his strike rate of 59.93 is a bigger concern.
Jadeja, who is expected to play the role of a finisher, has not been able to show his full potential lately. In his last 13 innings, there were only two times he achieved a batting average of more than one run per pitch, and there were only 10 times he had a strike rate below 70.
This is one of the reasons why India have been less keen to field three deadly quick-footed players in their eleven these days: Bumrah, Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Instead, they opted to add Shardul Thakur at number eight to increase their batting depth. Although Thakur is yet to hit a decisive bat in his ODIs, his presence gives the team more confidence in their batting and allows the middle-order to play harder without fear of what will happen next. Masu.
In an ideal world, all three Bumrah, Siraj and Shami would be in the XI. However, Jadeja’s poor batting form, coupled with the lack of batting power of all three players, makes this combination dangerous. If he were to play against all of them, Hardik Pandya would be recognized as the last batsman after Jadeja at No. 6.
Jadeja is also often India’s only left-handed player in the top seven, and his poor performance gives India the opportunity to use him as a floater to form favorable matchups. not.
But despite his batting slump, India needs Jadeja. His absence from last year’s T20 World Cup had a huge impact on the balance of the team, with either Axar or Ashwin playing the number seven role. Both are capable hitters and could make important cameos, but it would be a stretch to expect them to finish games regularly. Jadeja is more reliable despite his poor running.
High scores are expected in this World Cup, so how the team finishes the innings will be very important. Jadeja will continue to remain at number seven, mainly due to the lack of a suitable all-round replacement. However, it can be costly.
Is the problem of plenty a happy headache?
All of the Indian batsmen in the World Cup team have some experience of batting under their belts, but this wealth of form can often be overwhelming. Four players compete for his two remaining positions in the middle, while the top three players choose their own.
Left-handed Ishan Kishan is usually an opener, but he missed the Asia Cup match against Pakistan as No. 5 due to injured KL Rahul. He scored his 82nd run which was important and was praised by his Sharma players especially Rohit.
Rahul was fit for the Superfours match against Pakistan but was initially left out of the starting eleven despite previously making valuable contributions at number five. Instead, Kishan, who was in the scoring position, took a slight lead. However, Iyer’s injury at the last minute opened the door for Rahul as No. 4 and he survived his century.
Iyer also scored a hundred against Australia and has been a reliable No. 4 for India in recent times. Complicating matters is Suryakumar Yadav’s 250, who is backed by the team for his ability to finish innings despite a mediocre ODI record.
Iyer and Rahul both secured the 4th and 5th spots but it doesn’t seem to be that easy. Kishan provides another left-handed option, while Yadav frequently delivers a terrifying burst of sixes. Too many options can lead to a lack of clarity and make it easy to try to change your approach. That’s the last thing a team wants when the pressure is already on.
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