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India's T20 squad: Experience, execution and a little West Indian intrigue
India skipper Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar explain the rationale behind the squad they picked for the T20 World Cup.
Ajit Agarkar and Rohit Sharma will fondly remember their celebratory ride atop an open bus on Mumbai's streets after winning the inaugural World T20 in 2007. Agarkar was the oldest member of that Indian squad, Rohit, a 20-year-old rising star. Together as they sat to take questions, explaining the rationale behind India’s chosen 15 for the upcoming World Cup at BCCI headquarters on Thursday in present capacities as Chief selector and India captain, the camaraderie and comfort was evident.
Agarkar couldn’t stop smiling at Rohit’s wisecrack – ‘opening match is on 5th June, why do you want to know the playing combination now?’
To a question on absence of off-spinners, Agarkar joked of Rohit’s once golden-arm. “Hopefully the captain can roll his arm over,” he said. “I will try, I will try,” added Rohit in jest.
When Agarkar was asked a pointed question if Rohit returning as T20 captain was for lack of viable alternatives, the captain interjected. “I will answer that. Ajit was not part of the committee when this was discussed,” he said. Rohit explained how he had never gone away and his break from T20I cricket in 2023 was only because it was an ODI World Cup year.
The long and short being, in Agarkar-led selection committee’s eyes, Rohit Sharma-led India’s unaccomplished T20 World Cup campaign of 2022 was a thing of the past. So also, his batting struggles in that World Cup Down Under. They viewed Rohit as the mover and shaker of the 2023 ODI World Cup, under whose leadership India fumbled, only in the final hurdle.
Rohit’s world over the past six months has come full circle. After leading India to the runners-up medal in the ODI World Cup, he was told by Mumbai Indians that they no longer needed him as their IPL captain, only to be trusted with India’s T20I captainship, again.
“It’s part of life. Not everything will go your way,” Rohit said. “Before in my life as well I have not been the captain and played under a lot of captains. It's nothing new to me. Whatever is there is there. You do whatever is required from you as a player.”
Agarkar’s backing of Rohit was unequivocal. “As selectors, you want a leader. Rohit has been a terrific leader. His form in the (ODI) World Cup...Rohit’s a great player. It's not as if he’s forced on us.”
FOUR SPINNERS
By the looks of it, Rohit has got exactly the team he wanted. "I wanted more spinners,” he said, explaining the move to have four spinners in the squad. We know what the conditions in West Indies are like. I don’t want to go into too much detail because opposition captains will listen. Matches start at 10-10.30 in the morning. There's a technical aspect involved in this.”
Although Rohit’s choice of words added intrigue to the plan, he may have been alluding to the absence of swing, dry pitches and hence a scuffed-up ball; a point alluded to recently by Australian opener Dave Warner.
"I wanted four spinners and three seamers and with Hardik (Pandya) being fourth, you get the balance,” Rohit added.
Fickle as form can be, Rohit’s new captain at MI, Hardik has struggled as player and captain in the ongoing IPL. Rohit’s stature in India’s decision making saw him being in judgement of Hardik’s form. But he said, it was more important that Hardik had ‘no issues with his fitness’.
Agarkar reminded, there was nobody on the circuit, who brought the all-round skills as Hardik. “He's coming from a longish layoff. The good part is, he’s come through all the games (in IPL). As long as he is fit, we know the balance he can bring. I don’t think there is a replacement for the kind of things he can do. Especially, the way he bowls. He'll give Rohit a lot of options on combinations.”
The captain did not want to commit on any probing questions on what India’s preferred eleven was. Would Virat Kohli open or Yashasvi Jaiswal, will Rishabh Pant wicket-keep or Sanju Samson, will India play two wrist spinners together, or the two left-arm-spin all-rounders? ‘All options are open’, said Rohit.
One conscious effort to improve from the past that the think-tank spoke of was a need for greater batting tempo in the middle-order. “In the middle overs, we wanted someone who can play freely regardless of who is bowling. We have picked a guy in Shivam Dube based on what he has done in IPL and before that,” said Rohit.
The top order, the skipper felt, was ‘alright’. But the make-up hasn’t changed, except for the addition of the aggressive Jaiswal. And what about the barren T20 trophy run from 2007? Have they been reluctant to shake things up?
“You want some experience in the team. These guys have been around because they have been good enough to be around. That's the reason they have played multiple World Cups,” said Agarkar.
“Like Rohit said, in the middle of the innings we have tried to bring players who can bat a certain way. Assuming that a lot of teams will use spin, we have tried to address that. We have picked some left-handers as well. Surya is No 1. T20 batter, so he’s not too bad in the middle. The teams we picked (in the past) have not had the desired result, in that they have not won. It’s not for lack of trying. We have tried to add some spin-bowling all-rounders to give more freedom to the batters. Then, it’s down to execution. I don’t think there is any problem with personnel at all.”
