What changes should India make before the ICC T20 World Cup?
India’s assured performances leading to the World T20 have definitely singled it out as the team to beat in the premier T20 tournament. The inner workings of the team have been smooth but the rough edges still need to be ironed out. The important question here is what changes should India make to strengthen its hand at the tournament with so few matches left.
Problem with the batting
Indian batting order is fairly settled aside from the required floater that Hardik Pandya is. Yuvraj Singh’s form though is still a cause for concern. India retains Yuvraj as a useful spin bowling all-rounder for the subcontinental conditions.
But his prowess with the ball has definitely waned. Whereas in 2011 he relied on his consistency and guile to bamboozle batsmen the present day Yuvraj is given to spraying the ball around. Without useful control even on spinning tracks he would be little more than a liability.
Suresh Raina provides a better alternative and if Dhoni feels that the pitch aids spinners a lot he can gamble on the third spinner instead of a fast bowler. Yuvraj’s batting, while still occasionally mesmerizing, is definitely not enough to warrant a place in the team on its own.
Ajinkya Rahane still warming the bench, with his steady head and hand, can hold the innings if required and is a reasonably good hitter of the ball. But the argument here is that with the emergence of Hardik Pandya as the pinch hitter, Rahane can drop down the order if India lose their second wicket with only 6-7 overs left.
On the other hand, on difficult pitches, he can anchor the innings at four especially in tricky chases. His fielding is also a bonus that India should definitely use to the fullest.
Inconsistent bowling at times
Indian bowling lineup has come good on all types of pitches in recent times and it is very heartening to see. For so long the weak link - Indian bowling on difficult tracks India copes reasonably well but on good batting tracks their limited bowling arsenal shows through.
Indian spinners should get a fair amount of help during the tournament and do well but the faster bowlers, of which India has three, should tighten up their socks especially in the death overs. What hurts India is not so much that they are bad but that they are often inconsistent.
Dhoni should also improve his captaincy as far as utilizing the bowlers is concerned. Dhoni has too often been guilty of using his part-timers early in the match and for taking some of the overs from the quota of the regular bowlers.
Statistical analysis of matches clearly shows that this is a foolhardy strategy. An analysis of Indian bowlers stats over the last three years clearly shows that even Raina the best part-timer over the span had an average of 39 the worst among all bowlers with at least ten overs.
Yuvraj, another part-timer had an average of 32 and an economy of 7.5, the highest among all Indian bowlers currently with the team. This is when Yuvraj generally bowls in the middle overs, supposedly the quietest period in the match.
The part-timers should only be deployed in the most extreme of circumstances when one of the bowlers is woefully out of form or the pitch is disproportionately helpful for the spin (or pace).
As an example consider the recent match between India and Pakistan in which in spite of having five bowlers (and all of them doing extremely well) Dhoni still introduced Yuvraj before both Jadeja and Ashwin. Although Yuvraj did take a wicket you can not argue with statistics. Also the bowlers should get to do what they are for in the team.
Still a lot needs to be done
India is in the pink of health as far as their form is concerned. But this should not be a curtain behind which their deficiencies hide before they come forth in an important match. This is what happened in the last T20 World Cup where India in spite of being huge favorites in the final struggled and conceded the match against an inspired Sri Lankan side. The signs were there for all to see but their imperious form swept everything under the carpet.
To make the same mistake twice would be unforgivable for a team of India’s caliber. As Indian fans wait with bated breath for their team to begin their attempt to climb the mountain of success once again India would be wise to realize that with success comes responsibility to evolve into the historically great from the merely good.