T20 purge the need of the hour for India
As one looks back, it is difficult to comprehend how India were runner-up in the last World T20, a suggestion that makes one scowl with scepticism. But like the big fat Greek surprise at the Euros, it was a manifestation of sport's surrealism.
Okay, perhaps not as violent a shock considering that the pitches in Bangladesh fulfilled our spinners' wildest fetishes. They revelled in conditions that remain an anomaly in the shortest form of the game, even when playing at home, as the two Twenty20 Internationals at Dharamsala and Cuttack indicated. The two embarrassing defeats to South Africa were another rude reminder that India's vapid style of play is behind times.
International T20s have generally been a burdensome barrier to break for Dhoni and co. Back in 2007, when India gave the format a kiss of life by winning the inaugural T20 World Cup held in South Africa, India boasted of a team that could lynch oppositions in their sleep. Eight years onward, They appear weak and powerless. That, despite owning bragging rights over the annual T20 jamboree.
Contrary to premature predictions, the advent of the Indian Premier League has been counterproductive to India's own T20 fortunes. Turning logic on its head, the tournament has often been a springboard for national recalls to the ODI and Test squads, but seldom have its offsprings been rewarded with a place in the Indian T20 line up. Gems like Deepak Hooda emerge out of thin air with a magical pop but are quickly lost in the din of Indian cricket.
Teams around the world have learnt to treat the shortest format as a separate entity. They have eventually realised that the mind-boggling number of T20 matches played domestically means that, every day, 'at the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps', T20 specialists are born and that, It is sacrilegious to neglect them.
But India have continued to meander in their groove, trusting the majority of the ODI squad to deliver the goods in T20's as well. Now, on the face of it, India's ODI squad is equipped to tackle the more frantic pace of the shortest game. The likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Akshar Patel, Harbhajan Singh etc bring unprecedented value to their respective franchises in the IPL as well.
Skewed team selection and mixed up batting order
But in India's T20 endeavours, they are all working in a distinctly different dynamic. Dhawan's presence alongside Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli at the top renders India's physiognomy, one dimensional. Besides, early introduction of spin tethers Dhawan's scoring options, which exerts enormous pressure on Rohit and Kohli.
Both Rahane and Raina bat in more suitable positions for their franchises than they do for India. Rahane opened for the now defunct Rajasthan Royals while Raina held proprietary rights over the number three slot for partners in crime, Chennai Super Kings. Rahane's dual dilemma is that he fits the bill solely as an opener, coupled with the misfortune of not being a regular in the ODI side either, apparently a requisite under Dhoni.
Also, Rahane possesses a relatively wider range of shots than Dhawan, but nothing that drastically alters the shape of India's top order. Neither has played enough for India to allow a fair comparison but their strike rate in all T20 matches is neck and neck. So the change might be negatory.
With the enigmatic Rayudu, India don't seem to know what to do, so they define a fancy role for him, that of a floater, one who aimlessly oscillates between numbers 4, 5 and 6. His busy manner of operation enables him to do justice to a similarly ambiguous role in ODIs. But whether his repertoire extends beyond pretty pushes and nudges remains a mystery.
in some cases ‘seniority’ seems to take precedence. How else does one vindicate the inclusion of Harbhajan Singh in place of Amit Mishra at Cuttack? Not only has Mishra hit a belated purple patch at the highest level, but his T20 numbers for India and others are exemplary. India's 2014 World T20 campaign was championed around Mishra's leg spin, a fact the team management forgot to take note of.
Dhoni’s miserable T20 record and tentative captaincy
Although Dhoni suggested that the bench would have got their opportunity had the Kolkata match not been abandoned, why is it that we continue to react to life as it comes, in a format that demands a gung-ho approach? The general consensus is that captaincy plays a larger role in the extremes of Test matches and T20s, while ODIs run their own course. Thus, it is not surprising that India's fortunes in the longest and the shortest format have been hitched to that of their tentative captain.
What jolts an already rickety boat, amid a titanic wave, is the merit in Dhoni's own selection. While an unflattering T20 record could have been overlooked earlier, this young team offers him no such luxuries. The format itself allows him nowhere to hide in the middle order. He seems bereft of his hitting powers, which disqualifies him as a designated finisher.
Batting higher up the order poses another set of problems considering that he cannot hope to operate in third gear like he does so successfully in ODIs. Besides, who can he possibly replace? The aforementioned rhetoric leaves the heart of India's batting in the slippery hands of an out of place Rayudu, a hesitant Dhoni and a pseudo all-rounder, Axar, inspiring very little confidence on the brink of another World T20.
Dhoni, who has led India to every major title in limited overs cricket, could finish his stint on the wrong side of a staggering five World T20's.