“Why should your best player move down?” – Decoding India’s Asia Cup 2023 squad if KL Rahul or Shreyas Iyer is unfit
Among the slew of things delayed in cricket recently, the BCCI is yet to announce India’s squad for Asia Cup 2023 beginning August 30. Moreover, just three days remain for the start of India’s preparatory camp in Alur.
The delay in finalising the team is because of the fitness of KL Rahul (thigh) and Shreyas Iyer (back). The selectors and the team management have their eyes set on the duo’s rehabilitation at NCA and their recent vigour.
The two batters form an integral part of the engine room. They are the midfield generals. They pull the strings in the middle overs. And they are the strongest bridge between an exemplary top order and a wobbly tail. They are the meat without which the burger won’t sell.
Then what about the recent experiments that Rahul Dravid and Co. undertook? Well, they are still left with more questions than answers. Also, any kind of tweak would be pouring cold water on the entire roadmap that was laid after the disappointment of the 2019 World Cup.
The below table lists out the possible options in the middle order, also highlighting why Shreyas Iyer at No. 4 followed by KL Rahul is the best formula.
It’s been over three months since Shreyas and Rahul have had successful surgeries. But the star batters are desperately lacking game time and their first match back would be the high-voltage encounter against Pakistan on September 2.
Former India selector Sarandeep Singh wants them to have just clarity on their workload. In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, he backed their inclusions purely on experience and proven mettle.
“They should play, because they have that experience. Fitness is one thing, but they have the experience of international cricket and where they have done very well. You don’t have time to not rush. If there had been some domestic matches, they could’ve played four-five games before getting picked. But there is barely any time,” he said.
Another core member who has just returned from injury and is still under the lens, is Jasprit Bumrah. Sarandeep Singh, who was in charge of assembling the 2019 World Cup squad, gave the star pacer’s example to reiterate the importance of simply playing matches in the build-up to the quadrennial event starting October 5.
“Bumrah did it on Friday. Even he wasn’t playing any cricket. Although fast bowling is one of the most difficult things to do, it’s just about knowing where to land the balls. The more matches he plays, he will improve further. He is still delivering wicket-taking balls. I agree he will have to face better opponents, but he has to maintain the same line and length,” the 43-year-old mentioned.
Interestingly, a month out from last year’s T20 World Cup, Bumrah had broken down again after playing two T20Is against Australia. Even Shreyas’ back injury resurfaced during the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year.
“Three months is a lot of time for them to recover from their injury. Even if you are playing practice matches, you just have to see how much load your body is being able to take and whether the same pain points are recurring. The people at NCA would be putting more and more pressure on them to see how their body is reacting in pressure situations. And talking about pressure situations, they have been playing cricket for so many years, in the IPL and against so many big international players. So they know how to handle that pressure.
"The biggest weapon you can have is a positive mindset. If you are mentally strong and you know how to handle that pressure, then things will be easy. The nerves cricketers get these days are because of the pressure to perform, not of the occasion,” Sarandeep Singh, who served as a senior men’s national selector from 2016 to 2020, elaborated.
New chairman Ajit Agarkar will chair a meeting today in Delhi with his zonal selectors, along with Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma, to announce the Asia Cup squad. SS Das will join on video conference from Ireland to give inputs on Bumrah. The same group is likely to be retained for the World Cup.
“Ishan Kishan should somehow be in the playing XI” – Sarandeep Singh
Reports from NCA claim that KL Rahul’s recent batting and wicketkeeping grant him the fitness check. But there are still some question marks over Shreyas Iyer. What if one of them or both fail to get ready in time? Or what if the thinktank doesn’t want to throw them into the deep end straightaway?
Sarandeep Singh doesn’t find a more suitable option than Ishan Kishan to deputise in the middle order. He also feels playing the dynamic keeper-bat down the order should have been a part of the experiments on the West Indies tour.
“Ishan Kishan is the best option to play at No. 4. You get a leftie, he can play the big shots and he was in superb form on the West Indies tour. But I feel he should’ve been played at No. 4 or 5 in some of the games in the West Indies. Because in the presence of both Rohit and Shubman, he has no option but to go down the order.
KL Rahul has the experience and he drives the game at No. 5. If you get one of either KL Rahul or Shreyas Iyer, then Ishan Kishan can even play at No. 5. Every team has a left-arm spinner and a leg spinner; so if Jaddu and Ishan Kishan are playing together, it can create a big impact. Ishan Kishan should somehow be in the playing XI, regardless of anything,” he stated.
An opener by profession, Ishan Kishan’s numbers plummet (refer to the table above) while batting at No. 4. In fact, he and Shreyas have batted the most number of times (thrice each) in that position this year. But Kishan hasn't batted below that in ODIs yet.
Following is the list of all the players India tried out at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 in ODIs since the start of 2023:
Another left-field move would be to rope in Tilak Varma, who recently made his T20I debut in the Carribean. But Sarandeep Singh, who played 3 Tests and 5 ODIs, thinks he should come up for discussion only if both Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul fail to make the cut.
“He doesn’t have a place in this team. He did come up for discussion, but he still needs more time. If both Shreyas and KL are unfit, then Tilak can be given a chance thinking Suryakumar Yadav has already been tried out. But I don’t think they should do so many changes. They should stick with Surya only. Even if both of them are not fit, Suryakumar Yadav is your best option. Even if he’s not scoring runs, he still has to be there. But if suppose Tilak Varma smashes two hundreds in the Asia Cup, only then he will come into the picture,” he opined.
Tilak’s List A numbers vindicate the clamour for his inclusion. Batting at No. 3 for Hyderabad, the 20-year-old has amassed 1236 runs at 56.18 and a phenomenal strike-rate of 101.64. Although he has been far from impressive against Ireland, the southpaw was India’s highest run-getter in the West Indies series.
Where does Suryakumar Yadav stand?
While Suryakumar Yadav has set T20I cricket ablaze, he has struggled to find his feet in ODIs.
His average of 24.33 after 26 matches fail to justify the talent he posseses. In 10 ODIs this year, the 32-year-old has managed to score just 127 runs at 14.11 with a best of 35. Starting from No. 3, he has played in all positions right down to No. 7.
Sarandeep Singh wants the team management to give SKY a fixed role similar to how they operated with Dinesh Karthik last year.
“He should be given a role similar to what they had given Dinesh Karthik. DK was a designated finisher and he was given that No. 7 slot. Similarly, Surya should be fixed at No. 5 for coming in after 35 overs. Nobody can bat the way he does in T20 cricket, but he is a shorter-format player. We cannot expect him to do bat 30 overs but, he will be a very handy player lower down the order in ODIs. And the selectors and the support staff should have that clarity on when they’re planning to send him,” he expressed.
But much like Tilak Varma, Sarandeep feels Surya should be considered only if both middle-order slots are up for grabs.
“We shouldn’t even think about Surya so much. I feel both Shreyas and KL are fit, hence I don’t see Suryakumar Yadav in the team. And if one of them is missing, then Ishan Kishan should definitely play. Suryakumar Yadav will come into the team only if both Shreyas and KL are unfit, which I don’t think will happen,” he iterated.
Considering the pliability of the lower-middle order, Hardik Pandya can even move up to No. 5 to help Surya play as an out-and-out finisher. Ravindra Jadeja has been the best performer at No. 7.
Sarandeep Singh added that SKY can face stiff competition from even Axar Patel for the No. 5 slot. Recalling Ravindra Jadeja’s match-winning knock against Pakistan in Asia Cup 2022, the former India off-spinner underlined the importance of southpaws in thwarting leg-spin and left-arm spin in the middle period.
“Axar Patel will be preferred over Shardul Thakur because the pitches here won’t be that fast and will produce a lot of runs. Hence there’s no better option than Axar Patel, who bowls tight and wicket-to-wicket. He’s a good fielder and you can even trust him with contributing 40-50 runs lower down the order. He can even compete with Suryakumar Yadav for the No. 5 slot. He’s scored runs against Australia on dustbowls and he can counter left-arm spin. In the last Asia Cup, Jaddu came out to bat at No. 4 against Pakistan and he won India the match,” he urged.
But that will only happen if India plan to field an extra bowler. Sarandeep Singh believes the home conditions would warrant the Men in Blue to go with three spinners and as many pacers, including the all-rounder triumvirate of Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.
He also made it clear that leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal doesn’t have a place in the 15-member squad, purely because Kuldeep Yadav has been picked ahead of him throughout.
“There’s no place for him in the 15. Since he wasn’t played in the ODIs, he’s somehow not being considered for the World Cup. His form has also been up-and-down in ODIs. And the all-rounders are getting more preference these days. Washington Sundar can actually be considered; he might be a surprise package. He might not make the 11, but he can be a part of the 15-member squad. Against teams which have four left-handers, an off spinner will come in handy,” the former Punjab tweaker opined.
The 33-year-old Chahal has featured in just a solitary ODI out of the 12 matches Team India have played so far this year.
Moreover, on pitches where playing three frontline seamers won’t be of much use, it will be a toss-up between Axar and Mohammad Shami.
“If you were to ask me, I’d go with Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. Not Mohammad Shami. Siraj is fit, he’s got more wicket-taking ability than Shami, and he’s a young fellow. The kind of form he’s in, he should definitely play. Shami has a few years left in his tank, but Siraj’s entire career lies ahead of him. But if you drop a batter and play that extra all-rounder, then Shami will come in as the third fast bowler,” Sarandeep Singh stated.
Even in the 2019 World Cup, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was preferred to Shami. All three quicks – Bumrah was first-choice – played together in that infamous semi-final against New Zealand when the conditions forced Kuldeep Yadav out of the playing XI.
“Rohit and Virat's own game will become slow” - Sarandeep Singh rubbishes top-order rejig
A very bizarre thing happened in India’s opening ODI against the West Indies. In the chase of a lowly 115, fans had their eyebrows raised when Rohit Sharma didn’t walk out to open the innings. He did not come out at the fall of a wicket either. Neither did Virat Kohli.
Setting up a left-right opening combination with Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, the skipper went in as late as No. 7 and his predecessor wasn’t needed at all as India won by five wickets. That game in Bridgetown sowed the seeds of a batting line-up rejig in people’s minds. Recently, former India head coach Ravi Shastri led a chorus of voices backing Kohli to play at No. 4.
Sarandeep Singh, though, reduced those opinions to mere talks.
“These are just talks. Why should your best player move down? Someone who has scored 76 hundreds, why should he go down the order? Because the game will get slow. The field will spread out, the balls will get old, and he won’t be able to play the shots he usually plays to release pressure.
"The guy who drives the game deep and has taken the team out of pressure situations so many times, why should he himself come under pressure? If you’re coming at the fall of one wicket, you can still play your natural game. But if two wickets fall, then even someone like Virat Kohli would have to slow down,” he told Sportskeeda.
The ex-selector further said that shuffling the top order would make it difficult for India to lay the foundation, thus helping opposition bowlers set the pace.
“The way Rohit and Virat handles pressure at the top, they shouldn’t come into the middle order and slow down the game. Their own game will become slow. On the other side, runs won’t come off the new ball. When two of the world’s best are at the crease, the bowlers come under pressure thinking even their good balls will be hit for boundaries. But here, the bowlers would have their tail up seeing two youngsters. And opposition teams would be using this strategy against us,” he added.
Since being promoted as a regular opener in 2013, Rohit Sharma has batted out of position just thrice. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, last batted at No. 4 in an ODI back in January 2020.
Lest we forget, the experiments carried out over the years were meant to develop bench strength.
Doing extra-curricular activities is fine for the CV, but it shouldn't hamper the main papers.
Sarandeep Singh's playing XI with Shreyas Iyer & KL Rahul: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel/Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Sarandeep Singh's playing XI without Shreyas Iyer & KL Rahul: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel/Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj