IND v PAK 2022: 3 glaring issues for India to fix during the remainder of the Asia Cup
Team India recorded a five-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in their first outing of the 2022 Asia Cup, but it wasn't always smooth sailing for Rohit Sharma and Co.
At various points during the run-chase, it seemed like India could implode. Naseem Shah dismissed KL Rahul early on in a powerplay where Pakistan's pacers got the ball to move around and threatened both edges. Shortly after, Mohammad Nawaz scalped the big wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in quick succession to derail India's charge in the middle overs.
Although India, thanks to Hardik Pandya, held their nerve and got over the line, there are several concerns as they build towards the T20 World Cup later this year. Here are three issues India must fix during the remainder of the Asia Cup.
#3 Avesh Khan is turning out to be the weak link in the bowling attack
India turned in a fairly comprehensive bowling performance. Bhuvneshwar Kumar scalped four wickets, one in the powerplay and three at the death. Arshdeep Singh supported him well, although he was carted in for a few in the end overs, finishing with two scalps. Hardik claimed three wickets with a well-directed barrage of short balls. The spinners, who didn't have much of a role to play, kept things tight for the most part.
However, Avesh Khan didn't inspire much confidence. The 25-year-old scalped the wicket of Fakhar Zaman with a short ball, but even that dismissal was slightly fortuitous. Barring one ball that moved to beat the bat, he sorely lacked penetration and accuracy.
Avesh was smashed for a six and two fours by Rizwan, all off deliveries where he didn't bowl to the field. He sent down only two overs on the night, with both Hardik and Chahal bowling out their quotas ahead of him. The pacer hasn't been in great form of late and is turning out to be the weak link in the Indian attack.
If India decide to drop him, they could call upon either the guile of Ravi Bishnoi or the smarts of Ravichandran Ashwin. In fact, if they play Ashwin, they could even shore up a slightly shallow batting lineup.
You can find the most wickets in Asia Cup 2022 list here on Sportskeeda.
#2 India have a clump of right-handers in their batting lineup
Ravindra Jadeja was the only left-hander in India's batting lineup against Pakistan, owing to the dropping of Rishabh Pant. Pant has been a touch unconvincing in T20I cricket of late, and Dinesh Karthik's consistent performances as a finisher prompted the team to go in with the experienced wicket-keeper. However, it might be in India's best interests to bring Pant back into the fold.
Jadeja was promoted to No. 4 in an attempt to counter the spin threat of Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz. While he struck two sixes against the latter, his strike rate against spin in the middle overs has been abysmal for almost a decade. The southpaw has often gotten stuck against spin, and using him up the other is a move that may not work all the time.
Pant doesn't have a great record against left-arm spinners either, with the ploy to bowl wide outside off bringing about his downfall on multiple occasions. But it's safe to say that barring Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, none of India's batters are great against spin, especially left-arm spin. The Men in Blue can't afford to have a clump of right-handers in their batting lineup.
Check out the updated list of most runs in Asia Cup 2022 on Sportskeeda.
#1 India's top three doesn't inspire confidence at all
Speaking of batting lineups, India's top three is turning out to be a major issue. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli all have their problems, and those problems lend to overlap. It has almost become a necessity for India to break up the trio at the top.
Rahul's intent hasn't been great recently and he seems low on confidence. He isn't great at attacking spin either. Rohit, on the other hand, has struggled to rotate strike effectively. His ability to accelerate post the powerplay has come under the scanner. Kohli, meanwhile, has barely been able to find the middle of the bat. The former Indian skipper's post-powerplay batting has been nothing short of abysmal, and opposition pacers have had him in all sorts of trouble early on as well.
India need to seriously rethink their strategies. Personnel changes - Deepak Hooda and Pant - could be the ideal course of action. However, at the very least, Rohit and Co. need to move a few players around in the batting order to ensure that the stagnation that the current top three bring disappears.