On Monday evening, Rohit Sharma was not a happy man, not one bit. A slew of catches was put down in the Asia Cup league fixture against Nepal – three in the first 26 deliveries of the contest – and India’s fielding ranged between the ordinary and the ridiculous. With every indiscretion, his mood darkened, and it must have taken all his self-control not to explode in public.
Nepal’s bowlers felt the full fury of Rohit’s willow as the Indian captain channeled his angst and let loose a stunning display of powerful ball-striking. The hour and a half he spent masterminding India’s ten-wicket victory, and their entry into the Super Fours, must have been cathartic, for Rohit was back to his jovial, I-am-happy-with-life self on Tuesday afternoon.
An expectant travelling media corps assembled at the Indian team’s hotel in Kandy for the announcement of the 15-member squad for the 50-over World Cup at home. There wasn’t any great buzz or electricity because the 15 was a foregone conclusion. There were no gasps of surprise when Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of selectors, read out the names. At the top of his list was, obviously, Rohit Sharma, captain.
As soon as he heard his name, Rohit pumped his fist in the air in mock delight and laughed as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. Agarkar, seated to Rohit’s right, didn’t notice the skipper’s little jig, though had he done so, he might have reminded Rohit, only half in jest, that the squad announcement was just the beginning. Not that Rohit would have needed any reminding.
The last time India won the 50-over World Cup was in 2011, at home under Mahendra Singh Dhoni. It was also under Dhoni that the last global silverware snuck into the Indian cabinet, at the Champions Trophy in England in 2013. For a country that’s been positioned near, or at, the top of the world rankings in all three formats, that’s too long a gap between trophies. It’s this anomaly Rohit will be expected to correct in his third ICC World tournament as captain.
The first question after the team was named was directed at Rohit: do you feel any pressure as captain, considering India’s extended barren run? “Nothing, not at all,” he replied. “We are here to play cricket and play to the best of our ability.”
Most pundits will assert that if India play to the best of their ability, they will be hard to stop anywhere, and especially in their own backyard. But the World Cup is a marathon, not a sprint, spread over 46 days and encompassing 48 matches. The team that plays close to its best consistently match after match will be the last one standing, and Rohit will be hoping that’s the team he commands.
As expected, the Mumbai duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Shardul Thakur was picked ahead of Tilak Varma and Prasidh Krishna, respectively. Suryakumar is a force of nature in the 20-over game but hasn’t translated his success in the shortest format to ODIs; he is, however, highly rated by the decision-making group, and his experience and storied propensity to change the course of the game in a matter of a few overs won him the nod ahead of Varma, the gifted left-handed 20-year-old from Hyderabad.
Thakur versus Prasidh was equally straightforward, if at all there was a contest. Prasidh is an out-and-out quick bowler, tall and wiry with the ability to work up pace and extract appreciable bounce. But he is only just returning to competitive cricket. Thakur, with the moniker of the ‘man with the golden arm’ for his knack of taking wickets with even seemingly innocuous deliveries, is a handy proposition to have because he is capable of scoring runs down the order, a rarity in Indian 50-over cricket now with the other fast bowlers hardly boasting batting credentials.
Thakur at No. 8, behind vice-captain Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, gives India a third consecutive all-round option in the batting order. With Axar Patel also in the squad, India have four individuals who can perform dual duties with bat and ball, and it’s this ability which meant that for the sake of team balance, India have chosen to go into the tournament without a specialist finger-spinning offie. Perhaps, if they had been allowed to pick 16, veteran R. Ashwin would have walked into the squad.
The biggest talking point after the team announcement was KL Rahul, the one-time all-format deputy to Rohit who has fallen on hard times in the last several months. Rahul has ceded his spot as Test opener to Shubman Gill and is currently out of the T20 mix, but he has an excellent record in ODI cricket, especially when he keeps wicket and bats in the middle order, mostly at No. 5. Relishing the twin responsibilities, he has shown a freedom and enterprise that has eluded him as opener in the other two versions, and is also an important member of the leadership group, considering that he has led the country in all three formats previously.
Rahul hasn’t played competitively since May, when he injured his thigh during the IPL and had to undergo surgery. Post rehabilitation, he was named for the Asia Cup but picked up a groin injury that required him to stay back at the NCA while the rest of the squad travelled to Colombo. Now fully recovered, Rahul will play in the Super Fours though when asked which of Rahul or Ishan Kishan, the feisty left-hander, would be the first-choice wicketkeeper, Agarkar lapsed into a long period of silence.
‘Good problem to have’ came to Agarkar’s rescue; after all, it is better to have to decide whom to leave out than whom to pick. With his outstanding knock of 82 under pressure against Pakistan last week in his first outing at No. 5, Kishan has opened up a new, left-handed middle-order option in a top order heavy with right-handers, though one suspects Rahul will be the preferred option to start with because of his greater familiarity with the demands of that tricky position.
When Rohit said it was the ‘best 15 we could do,’ one could hardly argue with him. Like Rohit himself in 2011, some might feel hard done by at having been overlooked, but that’s inevitable when only 15 can be picked. Will this squad go all the way? Bring out the crystal ball.
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