The countdown to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is entering its final stretch. By the time India begin their five-match ODI series at home against Australia – their final international assignment ahead of the trip to England – they will be less than 100 days from kickstarting their bid for a third world title.
It goes without saying, then, that there’s a lot to take stock of.
As good an ODI unit as they are, evidenced by 10 series/tournament wins out of 11 since the 2017 Champions Trophy and a win rate second only to England (and marginally, at that) since the 2015 World Cup, the team management is eager to iron out any remaining creases and set out for the World Cup with the strongest possible combination.
And so the ODIs against Australia become the last ‘experiment’; the final ‘audition’ for the few spots available in the XV which will board the flight to the UK.
As It Stands: The ‘Certainties’
Before the questions, the answers already provided.
At least 12 members of the eventual 15-man roster seem locked, with the core of the team having remained intact over the last couple of years.
The trinity at the top, the first-choice wicketkeeper, the first-choice all-rounder, two spinners and three pacers are virtual blindfold picks, while Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav have done enough to earn the team’s faith – and an automatic stamp of approval.
- Virat Kohli
- Rohit Sharma
- Shikhar Dhawan
- Ambati Rayudu
- MS Dhoni
- Kedar Jadhav
- Hardik Pandya
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Yuzvendra Chahal
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Mohammed Shami
To a majority of observers, the 12 names above constitute what is likely to be India’s first-choice playing XI, with Mohammed Shami expected to be just behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the pecking order.
That, essentially, means the spots remaining in the squad are for back-up roles. Which are?
India’s WC Squad: Spots for Grabs
- Back-up ‘keeper-batsman (must)
- Back-up opener (not absolutely necessary)
- Back-up all-rounder (imperative)
- Back-up fast bowler (case-dependent)
Back-Up ‘Keeper: Pant or Karthik?
Arguably the selection which will cause maximum head-scratching.
At the very onset, let’s have this out – even if Rishabh Pant were to get the nod in India’s World Cup squad, it needn’t necessarily be at the expense of Dinesh Karthik (as explained under back-up opener). And the more seasoned Karthik’s omission from the roster, given events and soundbytes from the past years, could be harsh.
Having paved his way back into the ODI reckoning around the 2017 Champions Trophy, the 33-year-old, while still a quite in-and-out figure in the XI, has had formidable returns as a middle-order batsman.
Karthik in ODIs since 2017: 17 innings, 425 runs, average 47.22, strike rate 75.22.
The last of those numbers, a strike rate more 1999 than 2019, appears to be a red-flag at the first glimpse. But let’s examine his numbers during the same time-frame in T20Is – a format where he has been accorded a much more regular spot in the lineup.
In 16 T20I innings for India since the start of 2017, Karthik has aggregated 290 runs at an average of 58 – and a strike rate of 157.60.
Yes, the formats are different – but aren’t most arguments in favour of Pant’s inclusion also based upon his success in T20 cricket?
The 21-year-old, for the record, has featured in 16 limited overs internationals for India (three ODIs, 13 T20Is), averaging under 20 for his 270 runs at a strike rate of 125.58. His overall T20 numbers, though, make for impressive reading.
Pant in T20 cricket: 63 innings, 1,948 runs, average 34.78, strike rate 162.46.
The strike rate pops up as a regular frame of reference in this debate because this role, primarily, entails being able to provide a death overs dash, be it while batting first or second – an area India have been found lacking in on the few occasions they have been defeated in the 50-over game over recent years.
Back-Up Opener: Rahul or Rahane?
It’s a question which has only shot into any prominence after chief selector MSK Prasad’s comments ahead of the squad announcement for the Australia series.
To many, Ajinkya Rahane didn’t seem to be in contention for the World Cup – unsurprisingly so, considering he’s only played six ODIs since the start of 2018, and none in the last 12 months.
KL Rahul, on the other hand, has had a horror last few months – on and off the field – and only returned among the runs, in any form of cricket, with a pair of 80s for India A in their unofficial Tests against England Lions.
Prior to being suspended following his ill-fated appearance on a TV chat show, Rahul had found himself in most ODI squads that India fielded last year – although not too often in the final lineup (three appearances in 2018).
Rahane’s last opportunity as an opener, during India’s previous ODI series at home against Australia in September-October 2017, had been a revelation. The Indian Test vice-captain hit four consecutive half-centuries, but found himself condemned to the reserves when the then-injured Shikhar Dhawan returned to fitness.
However, his limitations batting lower in the order, as opposed to the team management’s reckoning that Rahul can serve as an option at number four, tip the scales in favour of the Karnataka batsman.
Devil’s Advocate: The Case for Pant
Is it really necessary to go in with a specialist reserve opener? If the argument in favour of Rahul over Rahane is that he can also be utilised at number four (even if only as a stop-gap arrangement), then why not stretch the argument further and consider someone better equipped to handle a middle-order role?
Let’s face it, India’s troubles, if any, are unlikely to arise at the top of the order (so long as Sharma, Dhawan and Kohli don’t supernaturally lose their touch all of a sudden). And if, by some stroke of misfortune, one of the two first-choice openers are to be seriously injured, tournament rules anyway allow for a replacement.
Which is why, in this author’s opinion, India may be served better by taking both Pant and Karthik to the World Cup (with Pant, or more realistically Rayudu, completing the formality of serving as a ‘back-up opener’).
Back-Up All-Rounder: Shankar or Jadeja?
An answer heavily dependent upon the team’s preferred combination, but an argument which the new horse has steadily bulked up in his favour.
They may broadly be categorised as all-rounders, but Vijay Shankar and Ravindra Jadeja are not like-for-like players; one is a middle-order batsman who can bowl some medium pace, the other a full-time spinner who can chip in with runs in the lower-middle order.
That makes it quite tricky, doesn’t it, to have to pick one of the two?
Jadeja, after being sent on a prolonged period of ‘rest’ from limited overs internationals along with R Ashwin following their insipid returns at the 2017 Champions Trophy, made a spirited return to the ODI setup (albeit aided by a massive injury crisis) at last year’s Asia Cup.
Jadeja in ODIs in 2018: 8 matches, 14 wickets, average 24.57, economy 4.59.
Impressive, by any standard. But of those eight matches, seven came against teams ranked outside the top-six in the ICC ODI rankings – and all came in Asia.
It was enough to hold his place in the squad, and the XI, when India played a three-match series in Australia in January.
Jadeja in Aus, Jan 2019: 3 matches, 2 wickets, average 75.00, economy 5.17.
You begin to see where the problem lies, and the question likeliest to sound the death knell on the left-arm spinner’s World Cup hopes is this:
Is Jadeja ever, realistically, going to pip both Kuldeep and Chahal as a first-XI pick come the World Cup? With Jadhav regularly chipping in with a few more-than-handy overs, do India really need four spin-bowling options for a typically wet summer in England?
That is where Shankar’s credentials come into the picture. At 28, he is no raw product, and while he hasn’t yet taken the world by storm in his limited international opportunities, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder has showcased method and application – commodities given high weightage by the incumbent team management.
His first (and thus far only) appearance with the bat in ODIs came in the final game against New Zealand, and Shankar walked out to bat at Wellington with India 18/4. But he showed composure, and maturity, in stitching a recovery act along with Ambati Rayudu – and was well on his way to a well-deserved half-century, and possibly more, before being sold down the river by his partner to be run-out on 45.
He provided more glimpses of his ability with the bat during the T20Is in New Zealand, but will surely be hoping the team allows him to showcase his second quality a bit more; Shankar has bowled a mere 16 overs in his four ODIs so far.
If he can prove handy with the ball, Shankar could be the one stone taking care of two birds for Team India.
Back-Up Seamer: Is One Needed?
If India are to go with four out-and-out fast-bowling options in their World Cup roster, the audition pool for the final berth is vast: Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Siddarth Kaul, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar – a second squad can be made entirely comprising pacers who have featured in Indian limited overs squads in just the last year.
(Reports in Indian media suggest Khaleel Ahmed and Jaydev Unadkat could be in the race, with the variety of a left-arm seamer in the mix being a tempting situation.)
But if Vijay Shankar is to get the nod of approval, and the 12 ‘certainties’ stay put, India’s squad will have two seam-bowling all-rounders to go with three specialist fast bowlers. You don’t require more than five pacers in a squad of 15, surely?
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