India’s T20 World Cup 2022 squad is more Eric Clapton than Metallica — secure and predictable, but hardly out of the box. More classical guitar than electric. The team picked for the Australian "concert" has all the ingredients of a tried-and-tested outfit but very little of an unknown adventure.
The selectors have minimised risks by resisting the urge to bring in players the world hasn’t seen enough of. They have placed their trust on players who have been delivering for India consistently but whose gameplans are well known to opponents like the year-long play at the Sydney Opera House.
With regular players making up most of the squad (Arshdeep Singh is the only relatively fresh face), Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has gone for a sense of quiet confidence over the excitement of the so-called "x-factors". When it comes to life and cricket, he’s not the Indiranagar ka gunda as portrayed in the Cred ad but more of the trusted Kissan Jammy, the jam maker where his dad worked.
Captain Rohit Sharma has stated that the final XI for the inaugural match against Pakistan has already been decided. With the team management picking the playing XI well in advance, it’s clear that the approach is based on steady surety than brisk surprises.
Method over flair
Flair is often an abstract commodity. That’s probably why the team management seems to view someone of the calibre of Rishabh Pant, who has such an outstanding record in Australia, with some suspicion. He isn’t a fixture in the XI. Pant is someone who can run away with a match in a couple of overs. But his inconsistency in the T20 format hasn’t inspired confidence among the selectors and Dravid generally tends to prefer method over flair.
That approach has spread to other areas well. The bowling line-up has R Ashwin but not Kuldeep Yadav. With Ashwin you know what you get on most days but not with Kuldeep. We have gone with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and not with Umran Malik, India’s fastest bowler. The selectors didn’t even consider Mohsin Khan, the tall left-arm quick and one of the standout bowlers of the last edition of the IPL. If IPL was the yardstick, then even a Sanju Samson would have found a spot in the squad.
Instead, the selectors have rolled back the years and gone for Dinesh Karthik as the wicketkeeper batsman. He is the designated finisher and he has been doing a good job. He has been inventive as a batsman but as a wicketkeeper he isn’t the sharpest around, which brings us to the topic of fielding.
Fielding woes
This current Indian T20 squad has shades of the Indian one-day team of the '90s with lesser emphasis on fielding skills. In the Virat Kohli era, Ashwin wouldn’t have found a place in the team for his inferior fielding. But this is Rohit Sharma’s team. There is apparent evidence that Sharma likes specific game-changing skills rather than certain players who are supposedly three-dimensional in the modern scheme of things.
With India’s best fielder Ravindra Jadeja out of action with an injury, the squad has a very subdued look on the field. Kohli, despite his advancing age, is probably still the best bet to effect a run-out. Most Indian players are likely to be found wanting on the field on those vast Australian grounds where the World Cup will be held.
Toyota over a Tesla
This team can still do very well and that’s because of that one strength that Dravid is betting on — experience in pressure situations. While it can be argued that it’s a side with weary legs with a penchant to get bogged down by fear of failure, Sharma, KL Rahul, Kohli, Karthik, Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar have plenty of T20 experience that can come in handy on the fast and bouncy pitches in Australia. Even when they had to find a replacement for the injured Jaspreet Bumrah, the more experienced Mohammed Shami was preferred over Mohammed Siraj. Dravid is hoping that his senior players will rise to the occasion and stand up to be counted when it matters the most.
Toyota over a Tesla, if you like.
The Sky/Pandya show
There’s another reason why India is counted as one of the tournament favourites and that’s the presence of Suryakumar Yadav (SKY). He’s in the form of his life and his sense of adventure has found a new plane. SKY’s going 360 degrees in search of freedom, finding unbelievable angles with his delectable stroke play. A true representative of the modern T20 game, he has been able to launch some incredible shots right through the innings by innovating at will. He probably has three shots to every delivery bowled at him, in current form. In him, India has a match winner up its sleeve.
Hardik Pandya is another player on the rise. Captaincy of Gujarat Titans in the IPL seems to have befitted him immensely. He has been batting in the No. 4 slot for his franchise and has since then adopted a more responsible approach controlling the innings in the middle overs. This hasn’t dented his attacking frame of mind during the slog overs, with some outrageously huge sixes flying off his bat with minimal back-lift. He’s also bowling quicker and using the bouncer as a surprise weapon that’s resulting in wickets. With SKY and Hardik in the middle order, the opposition bowlers have plenty to worry about.
Pant’s presence
If India can find a way to slot Rishabh Pant into the final XI, the team may be able to keep the opposition guessing even more. With Pant, unpredictability is assured and therein lies the romance. He can go off like a rocket on steroids one day but remain a wet cracker the next. India should take that chance as there are enough number of players who can steady the course, if there’s a ship-wreck at the top. Like all good players, Pant has shown that he can lift his game on a big occasion and reverse the tide during a tight situation. That’s a priceless virtue.
To ensure Pant’s inclusion, Kohli may have to open with Rohit in some of the matches. That way, Pant can occupy the No. 3 spot. K.L. Rahul, who is under fire for his relatively poor strike-rate, may have to warm the bench on such occasions.
If India can kick off proceedings with a win in the opening match against Pakistan, it will calm the nerves in the dressing room. The team has bet on resilience and experience, sacrificing a bit of adventure in the process but there’s nothing wrong with that as results alone count in the final analysis.
Metallica can wait. It’s time for Eric Clapton.
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