Opinion: Should India Play 3 Genuine Seamers in the 2019 World Cup?
Team India will be itching to replicate their current limited-overs form in the world Cup, which is scheduled to commence from 30th May next year. The tournament will be held in England, so the contest between the bat and the ball is likely to be pretty tough.
The English Conditions will offer an extra advantage to the fast bowlers, especially at that time of the year. The Indian team is certainly one of the best teams in the world at present, as there is a perfect blend of youth and experience, accompanied by immense talent. However, there are a few perplexing questions that would bother the management, coach and the skipper.
The prime concern is the Indian Middle order, which has struggled in the recent past and has been blowing hot and cold. Ambati Rayadu, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav and MSD have given decent performances occasionally with the bat, but have lacked consistency.
Moreover, Team India has still not figured out the best fit for the number four position which has been a dilemma for quite a long time now. On a contrary though, openers Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have been in sublime form, the skipper Kohli has also been remarkably consistent with the bat.
However, the India bowling combination seems immaculately balanced, with all the bowlers making notable contributions. India has stuck to its tactic of playing the two wrist spinners in the recent past. Also, Chahal and Kuldeep have not only picked up wickets but have managed to slow down the scoring rate considerably as well.
The pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah have been exceptional with the new ball, the death bowling has also been top-notch. The all-rounder Hardik Pandya, has impressed everyone with his phenomenal performances both with the ball and the bat. The other bowling option India has is the part-time off-spinner Kedar Jadhav. Considering the English conditions, which are generally seam-bowler friendly, adding another seam-bowling option in the playing eleven would not be a bad choice either.
Hardik Pandya has not proved his prowess as a genuine seam-bowler in the limited overs format, which is evident from the fact that he has managed to pick only 40 Wickets in the 42 One-Day Internationals he has played for India. Pandya's scalps have come at an average of 41, which is fairly high by his standards.
Thus, playing with only two genuine seam bowling options in England is a risky decision, leaving the bowlers with no margin for error. Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur are the main contenders for the third fast bowling option and will offer immense stability in the fast bowling department.
The three seam bowler combination would mean that either Chahal or Kuldeep will have to make way for the third-seamer or a batsman can be dropped. The latter, however, seems highly unlikely as this would affect the batting depth of the team, though Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav are no mug with the bat.
It will be very interesting to see that whether India would go with the two wrist spinners, given that they performed exceedingly well bowling in tandem or the skipper would go with 3 genuine pace bowlers.
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