Ajinkya Rahane has made it to the Indian cricket team for the World Test Championship final on the back of his blistering form (over 200 runs at a strike rate of nearly 200) in the ongoing Indian Premier League. The likes of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj, too, are breathing fire in the ongoing IPL.
It may look like the Indian squad is in great touch leading up to the WTC final, even if the format is different. However, a closer look at the performances of the all players will reveal that all is not too rosy with their form.
Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are among the runs and the trio feature in the top ten leading run-getters in the current IPL. They may have been under scrutiny for their strike rate in the IPL but that is the least concern in Test cricket.
Another top-order player, captain Rohit Sharma, is not among the top 20 players. So far, Rohit has scored 181 runs in seven innings with a strike rate of 135.07. What might worry India head coach Rahul Dravid is the captain's lack of a big innings. On four occasions, the Mumbai Indians captain has been dismissed between 20 and 45; and his highest score of 65 is also his solitary fifty this year. “Rohit Sharma should take a break and keep himself fresh for the World Test Championship. Come back again for the last few matches, but right now take a breather himself. He is looking slightly preoccupied. Maybe he is thinking about the WTC. I think he needs a little bit of a break,” former India captain Sunil Gavaskar advised in his post-match analysis with host broadcaster Star Sports.
Even before the IPL, Rohit knew that this was a big dilemma for his team during the IPL. "They [players] are all adults. So, they have to look after their body and if they feel that it's getting a little too much, they can always talk about it and have a break in one or two games. But I doubt that will happen,” Sharma had said after the ODI series loss against Australia, just before the IPL.
Cheteshwar Pujara is the only Indian player who has reached England almost two months ahead of the WTC final. Pujara is playing for English county Sussex and has had scores of 115,35,18 and 13 in his four innings so far. Last year, he was prolific for Sussex and scored five tons, which helped him force his way back into the Test team after he was dropped from the South Africa tour.
Like Pujara, wicket-keeper batsman KS Bharat, too, hasn’t played a single game in the IPL but unlike Pujara, he is part of the IPL with Gujarat Titans. So, a specialist wicketkeeper is short of match practice for the all-important final against Australia.
Jaydev Unadkat is unlikely to find a place in the playing XI but he, too, hasn’t played a lot of matches in the IPL. After three outings for Lucknow Super Giants, the Saurashtra pacer went wicketless and conceded 94 runs.
Another pacer Umesh Yadav, who was sensational for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022 (16 wickets in 12 matches at an economy rate of 7.06) has been a pale shadow of himself, with just one wicket to his name in eight matches. Even worse is his economic rate of nearly 10 runs per over.
Umesh’s KKR teammate Shardul Thakur, too, hasn’t captured too many wickets (just two in five matches) but his economy rate is decent in the five matches he has played so far in the IPL. Besides, he has been among runs as an all-rounder, which is a good sign for India.
India’s spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel have been key performers for their respective teams in the IPL and all of them were in great form in the Border-Gavaskar trophy ahead of the IPL. Ashwin and Jadeja, who are expected to be part of the playing XI, have 20 wickets between them, with a decent economy rate of under 7.50 runs per over. So, switching from red ball to white ball has not had any effect on their performance and one can expect similar form once they reach England for red ball cricket.
The same can be expected from India’s new-ball attacking pair of Shami and Siraj. Both have been in terrific touch with the new ball as well as the old. While Shami is at number 10 among the highest wicket-takers this season, Siraj has been awesome with his pace and swing. The Purple Cap holder has taken 14 wickets so far, at an economy rate under 7.5. Even though the pair has been in great rhythm, the Indian Team management may want some breathing space for the two bowlers, who will be key components of India’s attack, especially in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.
Shami’s GT looks like it will make it to the playoffs and Siraj’s RCB will be in the hunt till the last phase of the IPL and that could worry Indian fans a little. The last thing India wants is a tired or injured Shami-Siraj pair for the WTC final, which starts on the 7th of June in London. Australia’s pacers are taking a well-deserved break right now — Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc are not featuring in the IPL.
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