3 batting lineups in 2023 World Cup with the longest tail ft. India
With all of the international matches wrapped up, all teams have their eyes set on the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup in India. The 10-team tournament is scheduled to begin on October 5 with a clash between defending champions England and runners-up New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Several sides have already arrived in the subcontinent ahead of the warm-up matches, where they will be on the lookout to checklist some of the final unticked boxes and adapt to the conditions as well.
Modern-day cricket has dictated the use of multi-faceted players which not only give a captain additional bowling options, but it will also add depth to the batting. Teams are preaching and abiding by the ultra-aggressive approach with each progressing day, and such a high-risk reward style of play demands the use of as many batters as possible.
Having credible all-rounders till No. 8 and including bowlers who can bat a bit in the tail order has become a necessity. England showcased the importance of batting depth in their 2019 World Cup winning campaign and other teams have tried to bolster the same since then.
Team India are also forced to sacrifice Mohammed Shami to include Shardul Thakur in the playing XI for the sake of batting depth. The dead rubber third ODI against Australia was evidence enough to showcase what a fragile tail order can do to an innings.
On that note, let us batting lineups in the 2023 World Cup with the longest tail.
#1 India
India head into the World Cup as one of the favorites again, with a promising Asia Cup campaign and a series win over Australia proving to be the perfect preparation to bring momentum and confidence. However, batting depth is an issue that has plagued the team for some while now.
The tail order of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav have not been reliable with the bat at all, which as mentioned earlier, rules out the inclusion of Mohammed Shami in the playing XI.
The fact that the lower-order batters cannot be trusted also adds pressure on the finishers in the squad as well. In the recently concluded third ODI against Australia, Ravindra Jadeja struggled to be the lone man in charge and could only end up scoring an almost run-a-ball knock worth 35 runs.
Similar issues were evident in Team India's matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the 2023 Asia Cup as well. The opposition bowlers can run through the tail in no time as they are clearly not offering enough resistance.
#2 New Zealand
New Zealand's batting depth has taken a serious hit following Michael Bracewell's injury. Their lower order will depend a lot on whether they field three spinners or make use of two frontline spinners and an all-rounder like Glenn Phillips.
Their expected tail order of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and a potential third seamer like Lockie Ferguson looks quite fragile on paper with the bat. Ish Sodhi has shown some ability with the bat recently, but he is far from a reliable No. 8 batter.
A lot depends on how Mitchell Santner recovers from his injury and how the young Rachin Ravindra can handle the pressure at the World Cup. Kyle Jamieson is a credible candidate to increase the batting depth, but it is unlikely that he will find a place in the playing XI.
#3 Sri Lanka
Similar to New Zealand, the batting depth of Sri Lanka has been severely affected by Wanindu Hasaranga's injury ahead of the World Cup. The spinner had found his groove as a batter, especially with a landmark 2023 Lanka Premier League (LPL) campaign.
Sri Lanka's batting up until No. 7 is pretty much standardized, with skipper Dasun Shanaka being the last recognized batter. Not much can be expected with the bat from the likes of Maheesh Theeksana, Matheesha Pathirana, and the second seamer that Sri Lanka will go with.
That leaves the No. 8 position open for Dunith Wellalage, and while the youngster has shown promise with the bat as well in his short career, it does not necessarily solve Sri Lanka's batting depth concerns.
A potential option to increase the batting depth comes in the form of all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne, but he is only part of the World Cup team as a traveling reserve.
Will batting depth play a key role in the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup? Let us know what you think.