India vs Windies: A lot more than what meets the eye
A lot of questions marks were already hovering over the meaningfulness (or the lack of it) of the Windies tour to India. These questions have gained more steam post the decimation of the Caribbean in the Test series followed by the meek surrender in the first ODI despite a substantial batting effort from the Islanders.
But with the ICC Cricket World Cup less than a year away, every ODI is an opportunity for teams to work on their potential shortcomings, and despite Team India's domination in this format, they also have issues to address.
Cricket pundits often put a lot of emphasis on sorting out the top three and the identification of the best bowlers for having a successful limited over unit. This is definitely true, as these are the positions which have the most definitive impact on a limited overs game, but in order to become an all conditions-all situations proof champions side, these are only a part (a major one though) of the puzzle and following are some of the other pieces that the Men in Blue need to put in place.
Middle Order Muddle: The most obvious issue plaguing Team India in recent times has been the brittle middle order which has stemmed from the lack of a solid number four.
India have tried a gazillion players in the past couple of years at the number four (or like some of us like to call it - second down) position. Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik were the latest candidates auditioning for it during the recently concluded Asia Cup and presently it seems Rayudu is the one who has pipped DK in this race.
Unusually for an Indian Skipper, Virat has voiced his support publicly for Ambati Rayudu as team management's pick for the middle order slot. But with the world cup still over 15 matches and three ODI series away, that statement of the captain shouldn't be viewed anything more than a ploy to show and instil confidence in his troops.
It will be hard to believe that India would stick with Rayudu for the tour down under if he has three to four consecutive failures in the ongoing series. Manish Pandey post a sensational 'A' team stint is already breathing down Rayudu's neck, and Rishabh Pant with his test match heroics and the fact that he is a southpaw is also a potential pick for the unstable Indian middle order. Pant might not an ideal number four but he can easily slot in at five, with MS Dhoni being promoted at the number four position.
Also, players such as Shreyas Iyer and even Dinesh Karthik have also not been completely discarded, as evident by the statements made in the recent past by the chief selector himself.
There is one more name, which might not be as close in this race but has definitely emerged as a dark horse in recent times- the ever consistent Andhra boy Hanuma Vihari. Vihari has translated his terrific first-class form to limited over success in the ongoing Deodhar trophy. Hanuma has a good list A record with an average above 47 and now with two back to back half-centuries in challenging situations in a tournament which is definitely on the selector's radar, Vihari might just have created an outside chance for himself. The fact that he can also slip in a few overs of part-time off-spin would also not hurt his case.
But definitely, the ideal situation for Team India would be Rayudu making the most of his opportunities against the Windies and more or less cementing his position for the World Cup.
Back up seamers: Selectors and team management need to be applauded for resting the first choice seamers- Bhuvi and Bumrah for the Windies series (at least the first two games for now). There is quite a lot of cricket coming up and it is important that the team management prioritizes, not just to manage the bowlers' workload but also to zero in on the backup seamers for the squad.
Shardul Thakur's fitness concerns and the lacklustre performance by Siddharth Kaul and Deepak Chahar in the recently concluded England series and the Asia Cup have prompted the selectors to go back to the experience of Umesh and Shami. With the world cup happening in England, Shami and Umesh might just be the right backups for Jaspreet and Bhuvneshwar.
English conditions, despite not being so much seamer friendly any more in limited overs cricket, still offer something for the pacers who depend more on the traditional fast bowling traits such as pace, seam and bounce rather than slower ones and variations. This is why it's important that the selectors extend the rest period of our ace-pace duo of Bhuvi and Bumrah and give ample opportunities to Shami and Umesh.
All-rounders and the Ravindra Jadeja factor:
With the emergence of the wrist spinning duo of "Kul-Cha" and the all-rounder slot cemented by Hardik Pandya, not a lot of people would have given a chance to Ravindra Jadeja for a place for in India's limited over squad in the current season. But boy, how wrong have all those assumptions been!
Ravindra Jadeja with his all round ability and almost superhuman like fielding skills has always been a serious contender for a place in not just India's squad but also the playing XI. With the absence of India's regular all rounders - Hardik and Kedar(yes you read it right- an all-rounder), the current series is an ideal opportunity to try Jadeja as a number six/number seven batter.
He has often shown glimpses of batting potential and is backed by decent numbers (an average of over 31 and a strike rate close to 85)with the bat for someone who bats so lower down the order. In home conditions, against a reasonably weaker opposition, the series could help the "Rajput Boy" ease into that position and maybe even emerge as an ideal number six or seven for the flagship event next year.
He is not only much fitter than Kedar Jadhav but also being a left-hander could aid some much-needed variety to our lower middle order. In case of good performances by Jadeja, India can also choose to play both him and Kedar in the future at the expense of Chahal as "Sir" can quite easily slot in as a second spinner for the team as well.
There are a few other spinning all-rounders in the domestic circuit who are also vying for this spot such as the likes of Krunal Pandya, Akshar Patel, Washington Sundar and Krisnappa Gowtham, but with the World Cup less than a year away, it seems a far-fetched idea to try others apart from the tried and tested Jadeja.
Game time for KL Rahul: Team India's top three is arguably the best in the world right now with only the English trio of Bairstow, Roy and Root coming closer. But just like England have the ever destructive Alex Hales as one of the backups, we have the supremely talented, (and we are talking not just about his Instagram game)- KL Rahul.
When on the song, there is hardly a soul who doesn't get mesmerized by the lanky Kannadiga's strokeplay. But unfortunately for him, the presence of Gabbar, Hitman and King Kohli at the top the chances come few and far in between. After Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's effortless domination in the first match at Guwahati, a lot of fans started questioning the logic of playing our full strength top three against a relatively inexperienced opposition.
But with Rohit and Shikar now effectively being just limited over players and Kohli having already skipped the Asia Cup, it made sense to give them game time. Despite this, India should ensure they give KL at least a couple of matches in the series, maybe by rotating the regular top three in order to give him quality game time as it might not be possible to do so on the potentially tough ODI series down under.
Indian team management have made it amply clear that they are seeing KL Rahul as a top three batter only and with the world cup being such a long tournament, it's important that we plan for contingencies and give enough game time to our top three back up.
The ongoing India Windies series might be a potential box office dud(though the packed stadiums don't suggest even that), but it definitely has an intricate layer to it. Professional teams don't take any opponent lightly and make the most of every playing opportunity and Team India would be looking to do exactly that. After all, champion teams are always a work in progress, even though the world might perceive them as finished products.