SWOT analysis of India’s T20 World Cup squad: Suryakumar Yadav’s form remains a big concern

SWOT analysis of India’s T20 World Cup squad. (Photo: X)

“Whatever team we pick, that would be a gun team,” said someone close to the selection committee. That was after the T20 World Cup squad announcement at the BCCI's Cricket Centre in Mumbai on Saturday. As far as T20Is are concerned, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee is spoilt for choice, and when this correspondent asked if that makes the job difficult, the reply was: “Having plenty of options is always better than not having options.”

The decision to drop Shubman Gill was a brave one. Bringing Rinku Singh back to the fold was a bold call. But now, as the focus shifts to the upcoming World Cup, it's a good time to delve deeper into the squad's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and potential threats. Here's a SWOT analysis…

Strengths

● The reunion of the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, as it will allow India to go double barrel at the top and from the outset. Gone are the days when you needed an anchor in the T20 format, one of the reasons why Gill didn't find a place in the team.

● Rinku’s inclusion ensures a double-barrel finishing as well, with him at No. 7 preceded by Hardik Pandya at No. 7. It adds steel and extra firepower to the batting line-up.

● The Indian team has all the bases covered. They can choose different combinations depending on the conditions.

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Weaknesses

● Suryakumar Yadav’s form. The skipper has gone without a fifty in 22 innings and made his runs at a strike-rate of 117.87. The numbers against pace are even more galling — an average of 8.11 and a strike-rate of 109.77. Surya needs to regain his mojo at the soonest.

● This will be Harshit Rana's first World Cup and the young fast bowler will be under pressure. When he plays, the opponents would like to target him.

Opportunities

● India stand on the cusp of achieving something special — winning back-to-back T20 World Cups and completing a hat-trick of winning ICC events, as they clinched the Champions Trophy (50-over format) earlier this year as well.

● What a huge opportunity this is for Sanju to vindicate the faith that the selectors and the team management have put in him. A successful World Cup for the wicketkeeper-batsman will end the opening debate for the foreseeable future.

Threats

● Despite their ongoing golden run in T20Is, the team has shown vulnerabilities when the conditions aren't tailor-made for batting.

● Also, at the World Cup, it would be important to use Kuldeep Yadav well.

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India’s squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (VC), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (WK).