Across five T20Is in the UK, India have expectedly tried out a few combinations without hurting their chances of winning the series against Ireland and England. That must have come as a huge relief after the run South Africa gave India at home last month. India fielded an unchanged eleven in all five T20Is against South Africa. This time, they really played around with their options while also trying out Hardik Pandya as stand-in captain in Ireland.
What this leg of the white-ball tour will really be remembered for was the wholesale change in batting ideology India successfully implemented against England. It’s still work in progress but where India looked more assured was their bowling.
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Bhuvi back to his best
Among the 11 bowlers India tried out, only Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled maidens against Ireland and England. He is swinging the ball both ways while showing remarkable control. His pace too has picked up in the last few matches. Australian pitches may warrant more back of the length bowling but Kumar’s success ticks the boxes necessary to give India’s fast bowling that roundedness. He is still more an asset in powerplay overs but with a few more matches to go before the T20 World Cup, Kumar has time to hone the slog-over skills that made him invaluable to India and Sunrisers Hyderabad, before an injury almost derailed his career.
The bowling order looks more or less settled with Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah opening, Mohammed Shami and Pandya winging the middle overs with possibly two spinners—Yuzvendra Chahal surely one of them—if Pandya isn’t given his full quota. The newer fast bowlers—Umran Malik, Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel—were largely expensive but in just one match Arshdeep Singh showed enough promise to keep the selectors interested. He is quick, moves the ball both ways, and to top it off is left-arm, always effective against right-handed batters.
{{/usCountry}}The bowling order looks more or less settled with Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah opening, Mohammed Shami and Pandya winging the middle overs with possibly two spinners—Yuzvendra Chahal surely one of them—if Pandya isn’t given his full quota. The newer fast bowlers—Umran Malik, Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel—were largely expensive but in just one match Arshdeep Singh showed enough promise to keep the selectors interested. He is quick, moves the ball both ways, and to top it off is left-arm, always effective against right-handed batters.
{{/usCountry}}Finding the finishers
Dinesh Karthik had a disappointing England series (29 runs, SR of 93.54) but India are making decent progress in building up a lower middle-order that can finish the innings on the right note. Pandya is the unquestioned leader of this attack, demonstrating his range with an aggregate of 100 runs (SR of 144.9) across four innings in Ireland and England while boosting his all-round profile with a four-wicket haul in the first match against England.
Add to this Ravindra Jadeja’s spunk. Jadeja at No 6 or 7 as an all-rounder is a better fit to this side than the main bowler’s role he was saddled with in the last T20 World Cup. His unbeaten 46 in the second T20I not only helped India build a defendable total but also drove home the logic of having a three-man lower middle-order that can contribute four overs and also score freely. Axar Patel may have got just one match in England but he is also a near (because no one can field like Jadeja) like-for-like option who will keep getting trialled in the coming matches.
Battle for the top
If India stick to the Pandya-Jadeja-Karthik combination followed by a three-pacer, one-spinner bowling attack, batters will come under more pressure to prove they are indispensable to the cause. Considering Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul—despite missing match after match due to surgery and rehab—still are deemed untouchable, we are looking at a possible scenario of just two spots left for seven batters who were tried out in the last five matches: Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan.
Kishan and Samson are likely to be backup because India already have more experienced options. From the remaining five batters, Yadav is an automatic choice at No 4, especially after his hundred in the third T20I against England. Hugely improved from the days he was known more for shots over square-leg, Yadav now has two shots for a delivery and doesn’t ever take the foot off the pedal. Quite simply, he is the middle-order enforcer, linking the top-three and the finishers.
There is a dilemma over No 3 though. With a hundred in Ireland and a 17-ball 33 in the first England T20I, Hooda’s inclusion was a no-brainer till he had to make way for Kohli. But can India afford to have three batters with slow strike rates at the top of their batting? Also triggering doubt is Pant’s lack of form in white-ball cricket. If Karthik is played with Rahul, who can keep wicket and bat anywhere between No 1 and 5, Iyer probably makes more sense in a team where role clarity is of utmost importance. Pant’s mixed returns as opener (26 & 1) in the England series isn’t enough to form an opinion but with so many batters contributing in that position, it’s difficult to project him as a probable long-term opener.