3 big questions for India to answer ahead of Super 8 stage of T20 World Cup 2024
Team India couldn't have asked for a better showing in the group stage of the T20 World Cup as they emerged as the winners of group A, undefeated in their four games. Wins against Ireland, Pakistan and the USA and a washout against Canada helped the Men in Blue finish off the first phase of the tournament with seven points.
India will kickstart their Super 8 stage with a high-octane encounter against an in-form Afghanistan side in Barbados on June 20. While their opponents for the second Super 8 fixture aren't confirmed just yet, the Men in Blue face Australia on June 24 and will be hoping that by the end of that game, they have sealed a semifinal spot.
While India haven't been defeated in the tournament yet, they also haven't played a single game in the West Indies. Thus, the likes of Afghanistan and Australia may have an edge having already played in the conditions in the Caribbean. The Men in Blue will need to address some questions ahead of the Super 8 stage and here are three of them:
#3 Game time for the finisher's role?
India have gone with the ploy of packing their team with all-rounders so that they could get the batting depth and the balance they are looking for. The batting contributions from the likes of Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja thus become crucial. However, they are yet to address clarity in the finisher's role.
The conditions in the Caribbean have suited the spinners and thus India could use Shivam Dube as a floater to take down spin. Axar Patel has already been used as a floater and like Dube, can be an answer to counter the spin threat from the opposition.
However, Hardik Pandya's pace-hitting is still a cause for concern. He hasn't looked the most comfortable while trying to take down the pacers from ball one and over the past few years has also batted higher in the IPL. Ravindra Jadeja had just one outing with the bat where he scored a golden duck against Pakistan.
#2 India's opening combination?
One of India's biggest headaches so far has been star batter Virat Kohli's form. The man who averages more than 67 in T20 World Cups has found it tough to get going in this edition with scores of 1,4 & 0. Kohli's troubles against the moving ball have raised the debate about whether he should return to the No. 3 position.
The Men in Blue do have Yashasvi Jaiswal on the bench, who can open with Rohit Sharma, thereby pushing Kohli to No. 3. However, they will then have to give up on the ploy of sending Rishabh Pant at No. 3, something which has worked really well so far. It will be interesting to see if the team management sticks to Kohli and Rohit opening the innings.
#1 Bowling combination?
Rohit Sharma had been pretty vocal in a recent press conference about having an extra spinner in the squad for the conditions in the Caribbean. That has all but confirmed India will look to play with three spinners and two specialist fast bowlers with Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube being the other seam-up options.
The spinner likely to come in is Kuldeep Yadav, but at who's place is the question. Both Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj have been impressive with the new ball and it could be a case of whether the team management wants the left-arm variety of Arshdeep or Siraj's experience.
As of now, Arshdeep seems to have the edge having been brilliant at the death overs against Pakistan and having also bagged figures of 4/9 against the USA. The Men in Blue would also have to weigh in leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and if they would want to sacrifice their batting depth by bringing the leggie in for either Axar or Jadeja.