T20 World Cup: India didn't have the squad that could play a fearless brand of cricket

England's Captain Jos Buttler (R) walks past the India's Captain Rohit Sharma after the ICC men's Twenty20 World Cup 2022 semi-final.

India’s abject surrender at Adelaide stunned even the most ardent of the fans who reacted with dismay and anger as England thumped Men in Blue by 10 wickets to set up a title clash with Pakistan at the T20 World Cup.

Shocking as it may be but India had it coming, their stunning win against archrival Pakistan in a group game notwithstanding.  The Indian team needed to play a fearless brand of cricket but the squad fell woefully short. To play aggressively through the match, eight to nine players have to excel in at least two departments.

Wrong mix

An ideal T20 team should have two top-order batters who can also bowl a few overs. At least three of the bowlers should be able to bat reasonably well and one genuine all-rounder is a must.

In the demanding format of T20, there is a place for only two specialists—ideally a batter and a bowler. In the current scheme of things, those would be Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah.

Almost everyone in the team has to be a world-class fielder, which wasn’t the case as the team sorely missed injured Ravindra Jadeja in the 30-yard circle.

For close to a year, coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma have been trying to forge a combination that value specific skills for specific situations.

Harshal Patel was designated the death-over specialist and Dinesh Karthik the finisher. While Patel didn’t get a game after playing non-stop in all T20 tournaments, Karthik warmed the bench in crunch games.

The management didn’t seem to have enough belief in anyone outside the first XI, Rishabh Pant perhaps was an exception.

If you look at England, they bat deep—down to number 9—and it allows them to attack through the innings even if wickets fall at regular intervals. Their top-order batters like Liam Livingstone can bowl too, apart from two solid all-rounders Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes.

Failure at the top

While India looked a well-prepared and carefully chosen unit, they never played like title contenders, they were more like hopefuls.

Openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul never looked convincing. Rahul scored half centuries against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh but failed against the superior bowling attacks of Pakistan, South Africa and England.

Rohit failed to fire, playing his favourite pull shot and getting caught in the deep on multiple occasions. He wasn’t getting into the best position for the pull shot and also seemed to lack the power to put the ball away.

The inability can be traced to his lack of fitness. Rohit is likely one of the most unfit players playing cricket and is surprising how the management and trainers have let that be. His poor fitness is telling on his batting, fielding and even captaincy. He is a sharp skipper, as is evident from his record with the Mumbai Indians, but at the World Cup, he was short of ideas.

Hardik—the captain India needs?

So, what next? India will play a T20 series in New Zealand from November 18. As was decided earlier, all seniors will be rested for the series and in the hindsight, it seems to be a smart move.

Hardik Pandya will lead the side, a big enough pointer to what lies ahead for the 28-year-old all-rounder.

Hardik led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title earlier this year, exhibiting game awareness and maturity that few saw coming.

A T20 player who excels in all three aspects of the game, bowling, batting and fielding, Hardik can be the captain even when the seniors return.

Under his command, Yadav, Jadeja, and Pant should form the team’s core. India will have to include an express pace bowler and a tall seamer.

The two finalists—England and Pakistan—have a battery of pace bowlers who deliver consistently. In Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan have a tall player capable of generating express pace, steep bounce and late swing.

Haris Rauf bowls ferociously, testing the defences of opposing batsmen. Mohammad Wasim and Naseem Shah, too, offer little respite to batsmen. England have Mark Wood.

Pace is one of the answers to many of Team India’s woes and it’s time Umran Malik and Mohsin Khan get a serious look. Umran, capable of clocking 150 kmph, is part of the squad against New Zealand but Mohsin is still sitting out.

The 24-year-old who plays for Lucknow Super Giants was the most effective bowler in the last season of IPL, picking up 14 wickets. His economy rate was an astonishing 5.96 in a format where 8 an over is considered good.

The tall left-armer, Arshdeep Singh and Bumrah, when he returns from injury, can form India’s bowling core.

The bare spin cupboard

It is the spin department that is the bigger worry. India didn’t use the services of Yuzvendra Chahal in the World Cup even as leg spinners played a prominent role for all sides.

England’s Adil Rashid and Pakistan’s Shadab Khan were crucial in the middle overs and helped propel their teams to the final.

India counted on Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel but it didn’t work. The two were rendered ineffective as they bowled defensively and couldn’t find the turn on Australian pitches.

Indian team lacked balance. With Jadeja out, Patel had to bat at number 7, a too high a spot for him. Selectors need to find a couple of quality spinners in the next one year. While Kuldip Yadav is an option, the team may need an off-spinner and one more leggie. The spin cupboard looks bare but that’s why selectors have a job.

The BCCI should allow Indian players in overseas T20 leagues like the Big Bash in Australia and the CPL in the Caribbean.

This World Cup proved how valuable it can be—England’s Alex Hales plays in the Big Bash and we all know what he did to the Indian bowling in Adelaide.

Pakistani legend Wasim Akram had a point when he said India hasn’t won a T20 World Cup ever since the IPL started in 2008.

India’s first and only T20 World Cup trophy came in 2007 when it was led by a young and bold MS Dhoni, marshalling a young team that was not burdened by expectations.

It helped that seniors like Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Saurav Ganguly sat out the tournament. The 2007 win has a lot to offer even today.