India’s search for ODI answers after the end of an era
With MS Dhoni deciding to step down as India’s limited overs captain, the final transition has been completed, with Virat Kohli, the biggest name in international cricket at the moment, taking over the responsibility of carrying Indian cricket forward. It also marks the end of India’s best ODI era and a legacy which will be difficult to match even for the great Virat Kohli.
But there are many fundamental problems that the ODI team has been facing over the past one and a half years. Never before has the Test team looked so much stronger and more settled than the ODI side. Post a superb WC-2015, India has been found lacking the spark and serenity which has been such an integral part of the Test side.
Not counting the two Zimbabwe ODI series post the World Cup, a 1-2 loss to Bangladesh, a 2-3 loss to South Africa at home, a 1-4 loss to Australia and a 3-2 win against New Zealand at home makes for strikingly different reading from their Test performances.
With Kohli’s brilliant performances across formats and the captaincy prowess shown in Tests, the change in leadership was on the cards.
Kohli and Kumble will now need to have a look at a lot of the structural issues facing the ODI side at the moment. With two years to go till the next World Cup, the time has come to decide the side that will represent the country in the 2019 World Cup.
Let us have a look at the various contenders and their performances since the 2015 World Cup:
Openers
Rohit Sharma – With an average of more than 53 and a strike rate of 96 in 18 ODIs since the WC, Rohit Sharma has been India’s most consistent performer in ODIs after Virat Kohli. Given his good captaincy record in the IPL, Rohit Sharma has a slight chance of becoming the new vice-captain of India’s limited overs side.
Shikhar Dhawan – He has been out of favour due to his lacklustre performances in the longer version of the game. But India’s top scorer in WC 2015, has continued his good run in ODIs. Averaging 44 with a strike rate of 92 since the World Cup, he will be looking to cement his place in the ODI side. Playing the role of an “aggregator” like Gambhir in WC 2011, he will be looking to complement Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the top.
KL Rahul – With some good performances in Tests over the last year and a half, KL Rahul has come up as a prime candidate for the opening slot alongside Rohit Sharma despite having played just the one ODI series against Zimbabwe. With his T20 century against West Indies last year, KL Rahul might also be the answer India is looking for in the lower middle order.
Ajinkya Rahane – Despite his immense potential, Rahane has been unfortunately very ordinary by his high standards in this format of the game. Averaging 38 with a strike rate of 83 post the WC, it will be interesting to see how Rahane fits into Kohli’s ODI scheme of things.
With Rohit Sharma’s injury, it will be interesting to see who Kohli picks as openers in the ODI series against England. Given Ajinkya Rahane’s ordinary NZ series, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan look like the most likely contenders at the moment.
Upper Middle Order
At No. 3, Virat Kohli the new ODI captain, is by a considerable margin, the best batsman in the world in this format. He averages almost 65 with a strike rate of 95 post-WC 2015.
No. 4, is where the problem starts for India. In all likelihood, M S Dhoni will take up this position for now. Dhoni, as he himself had mentioned in the NZ series, no longer has the ability to change gears at will. With the burden of captaincy gone, Dhoni will be looking to bat more freely, and build his innings along with the top and the lower middle order.
Also read: Why picking Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in both squads is the right call
In his 18 innings after the World Cup, he averages just 36 with a strike rate of 84, which is way below his extraordinary ODI standards. Dhoni’s fitness and wicket keeping are still exemplary, and this new phase of his career will be one of the most keenly observed things in Indian cricket.
Lower Middle Order
This is where India has faced the most issues, be it in the World Cup or the period post that. The 1-4 series result in Australia recently would have been very different had the lower middle order backed the performance of the top order. A lot of India’s success in the 2007-11 period was due to the performances of the brilliant combination of Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, who had given India the necessary combination of stability & aggression required to finish off matches.
There are a lot of contenders for these spots – Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Yuvraj Singh, Karun Nair, and Hardik Pandya. The selectors’ decision to bring back Yuvraj Singh for the England series shows the concerns the management is having with the lower middle order and the need to add some experience there.
Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Karun Nair, and Hardik Pandya are all very new to international cricket and are yet to establish themselves in the side. It will be absolutely essential for Kohli and Kumble to shortlist the candidates they have in mind and to start the grooming process. Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul will also be a possible set of contenders for these positions.
As of now, Manish Pandey looks to be the best bet at number 5 and will be given an another run despite an ordinary NZ series.
At No. 6, Yuvraj Singh, one of India’s best ever middle order batsmen, will bring the much-needed experience in the squad. With 672 runs at an average of 84 in this year’s Ranji season, Yuvraj will look to extend his form on the international stage, and reclaim his position back in the squad.
Kedar Jadhav will also be keenly contesting for this position. Both of them bring in the additional bowling option, which is an absolute necessity.
Hardik Pandya will occupy the important number 7 position at the moment. With the World Cup and Champions Trophy to be played in England, he is the only medium fast bowling allrounder India has currently. He was made to open the bowling in the NZ series, showing the faith and vision the management has in him.
Spinners
Though he hasn’t played a lot of ODIs recently, India’s biggest impact player in Tests and the best spinner in the world, R Ashwin will continue leading India’s spin department.
Ravindra Jadeja, the highest wicket taker in the 2013 Champions trophy in England and the No. 2 ranked Test bowler, will continue to partner Ashwin and the spin duo will try to replicate their Test form in ODIs.
India has a talented spin reserve pool of Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav and Amit Mishra. Jayant Yadav was one of the breakthrough performers in the recent Test series against England with brilliant all-round ability shown. Axar Patel, the only bowler from India in the top 10 of the ICC ODI bowlers’ rankings has been left out of the squad, with Amit Mishra included as the only reserve spinner.
Also, given Ashwin and Jadeja’s performances with the bat, there is a high chance that India will play both of them at 7, 8, and bring in an additional specialist pacer for the upcoming away ODI tournaments. They had a similar strategy in their last two successful ODI campaigns in England, the 2013 Champions Trophy win and the 3-1 ODI series win in 2014, and both the spinners were among the top wicket takers in both the tournaments.
Fast bowlers
For a fully fit, full strength side, the leading fast bowlers in contention will be Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah. Shami and Yadav have been brilliant in the longer version of the game but they also played a huge part in India’s brilliant WC 2015 run. The two bowlers were among the top 5 wicket takers and have carried their form across formats.
Bumrah, with his unconventional action, has been India’s find in 2016, taking 17 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 14 and an economy of 3.6.
Given the World Cup will be on the seaming tracks of England, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be a big asset with his ability to swing the ball both ways. Ishant Sharma, and Dhawal Kulkarni also add to the pacer pool India has. India also played Barinder Sran and Rishi Dhawan in the Australia tour last year. Given the workload, there will be a lot of rotation and Kohli and Kumble will have enough time to zero in on the 3-4 front-line pacers for the next World Cup.
India seems to have slowly narrowed down to a pool of around 20 players. They play only the upcoming England ODI series before the Champions Trophy, so Kohli and Kumble will take a note of the performances in this series. A standout performance in the series will go a long way in sealing one’s spot for India’s next ODI clash on June 4th against Pakistan at Birmingham in the Champions Trophy.