Is missing left-hander a chink in India’s batting?

Rishabh Pant and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the only southpaws in the squad but neither are sure to start

Nagpur: Based on evidence of India’s thrilling 2023 World Cup campaign, they have a specialist for every batting position. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill tango at the top of the order like few others in ODI cricket. In a short span (25 matches, 1732 runs at an average of 72.16), they have made it to India’s top five most prolific opening batting pairs. Virat Kohli at No 3 is an all-time great. Shreyas Iyer averages over 50 at No 4 and was one of the three Indians with over 500 runs in the last World Cup. KL Rahul ably anchors the middle order. Hardik Pandya is the most proven power hitter in the squad and he usually walks in at No.6.

The two genuine batting southpaws India has are Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant. (PTI)

India may go with the time-tested batting lineup. But it may not be a fool-proof strategy. A lot of water has flown under the bridge since the World Cup and from a tactical viewpoint, the missing left-hander in the top 6 could be a chink that opposition teams will be looking to exploit.

The same formula did work for most of their 2023 odyssey – Ishan Kishan played in only two matches – but there will be a temptation to shake things up sometime, somewhere. In the upcoming England series, a right-handers only batting line up could make it much easier for Adil Rashid to work his way into a spell or for the pacers to stick to a line and length.

In the Champions Trophy, India will be facing Pakistan who have leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed in their ranks, New Zealand who have Mitch Santner to take the ball away with his left-arm spin and Bangladesh have leg-spinner Rishad Hossain. If India wants to break the continuity, they have the option of using one of their three left-handed spin all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel or Washington Sundar as the floater. But none of them have much batting experience in the top six.

The two genuine batting southpaws India has are Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant. Jaiswal is yet to debut in ODIs but has shown enough pluck across conditions to suggest he can be a formidable batting partner to any of Rohit Sharma or Shubman Gill. But that appears less likely.

Among the keepers, Pant can potentially be a more aggressive middle-order alternative to KL Rahul, who has on occasions been guilty of not being able to give the finishing kick after getting starts – like in the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Purely, statistically speaking – Avg 33.50 to Rahul’s 49.15 - Pant would not make the cut. Despite playing some of the most outrageous innings in match-winning cause in Test cricket, Pant is far from mastering the tempo of ODI batting in the middle-overs.

Taking a punt on the upside that comes with Pant’s unorthodoxy will remain an option. By picking the Delhi left-hander ahead of Sanju Samson, who has better ODI numbers, perhaps the selectors too are thinking that way.

For now, their verdict seems to be, left is not necessarily right. That the effectiveness of matchups in the condensed world of T20 cricket does not apply to the same degree in 50 overs cricket. Rohit seemed to indicate in as many words that KL Rahul has his nose in front in the wicket-keeper debate.

“KL has been keeping wickets for us in the ODI format for a number of years now. He has done pretty well. If you look at the last 10-15 ODIs, he has done exactly what the team required him to do,” said Rohit Sharma. “Rishabh is well...he is there. We have got an option of playing either one of them. Both are quite capable of winning games on their own. It is a good headache to have, whether to play KL or Rishabh. But obviously, looking at what we have done in the past, having that continuity is also very important for us. That is where we stand as a team with KL and Rishabh.”