2019-21 ICC WTC Final: 3 reasons why a big squad could work in India's favour
With the IPL postponed, the focus of Indian cricket fans has now firmly shifted to the World Test Championship final, where India and New Zealand will play against each other at Southampton. The Test match, which will be played from 18th to 22nd June, will crown the first-ever official World Test Champion.
India recently announced a 24-member party to tour England for the WTC and the Pataudi Trophy, slated to take place soon after. There are 20 players in the India squad for WTC Final and 4 reserves as back-ups. Given the times, picking a jumbo-sized squad was a necessity for the Indian cricket team.
There are some clear benefits that the Indian team can reap from taking such a big squad on this tour.
1. The Indian team can deal with injuries more efficiently
Touring sides are often at a disadvantage if they have to deal with injuries and poor form. In the absence of like-for-like replacements, they might end up fielding a weaker side and that too in adverse conditions.
A bigger squad can often be of help in this situation. One doesn't need to wander too far in the past to find an instance of this happening to the Indian cricket team.
During the recent tour to Australia in 2020-21, India suffered the loss of several key players due to various injuries and personal commitments. These included Ishant Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mohammad Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari.
At that time, reserves like Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan, Washington Sundar and Shubman Gill came to India's rescue. In the end, India managed to eke out a miraculous victory over Australia, which was also their second-ever Test series win in the nation.
Contrast this to India's fateful tour of England in 2011 when the loss of Zaheer Khan destabilized the side to such an extent that they were left looking for reserves and eventually, RP Singh had to fly in from Miami. The series ended with a shattering defeat for India.
The difference between the two situations was, among other things, the presence of a bigger squad due to the pandemic. This gave the team management a greater number of players to work with.
The current Indian squad has Washington Sundar and Axar Patel in addition to first-choice spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. In case of an unfortunate injury to one of the frontline's slow bowlers, India will have a like-for-like replacement on their hands.
Given that this tour will comprise of 6 Tests, the presence of 24 players will be of great assistance to the Indian management.
2. Warm-up before the Test series for the Indian side
Originally, India were slated to face India A in a couple of fixtures to get themselves match-fit and ready for the Tests in England.
However, the India A tour of England has been scrapped. Therefore, India would have to make best use of the 24 players in their big squad for warm-up play and perhaps engaging in a couple of 12-a-side encounters.
In 2019, the Australian cricket team had to face several logistical issues in the long tour of England in which they played the World Cup and the Ashes. The touring party organized an encounter between a 'Brad Haddin XII' and a 'Graeme Hick XII'. This allowed the Australians to get the required practice before the Test series.
India too are no strangers to this practice. During their tour down under last winter, a 'Virat Kohli XI' played against a 'KL Rahul XI' before the limited overs leg of the Australian tour.
Get the updated WTC final live score by clicking here.
In both cases, the touring sides tasted success. Australia drew the Ashes 2-2, while India put in a creditable performance in the ODI series and won the T20I leg of the tour.
In the times of Covid-19, the regulations in any country can change at a rapid pace. Hence, by organizing a couple of these intra-squad games, the Indian team can avoid any last-minute changes and also keep their players game ready.
3. Rotation of players:
The Australian cricket team was famous for its rotation policy in the 2000s. This practice was very successful because it allowed the much-talented fringe players an opportunity to play for the Australian team.
While this Indian team hasn't yet been able to create a legacy similar to the Australian side, there is no doubting the talent of the Indian back-up players. This was particularly evident during India's last tour of Australia. After India lost a major chunk of its original squad due to injuries and other reasons, the other players stood up and proved their mettle.
Rotation also helps in keeping the players, especially the bowlers, fresh. This was visible during the 2019 Ashes, when Australia performed well through rotation of their key pacemen.
This policy can also act as a surprise weapon. The opposition isn't given the time to get used to the opposition players and may end up getting stumped.