Author: Bobji

It took a longwhile to come. 1020 days to be exact. The entire Indian nation counted the days when Kohli last scored a hundred. With each passing day without a hundred, the pressure on Kohli increased. People were ready to write him off. People who have hardly played the game, courting the selectors to drop him. Even the former players who had been there and seen it all, wanted Kohli to be dropped. They asked why is Kohli is given a longer rope than most not realising that some of them were given much longer rope than Kohli. Some like Gavaskar and Shastri wanted to help. When it finally happened, the whole country heaved a sigh of relief. Afterall, Virat Kohli is amongst the runs and it is refreshing.

Is Kohli back to his former self?

Anyone who had watched the way Kohli batted at the Asia Cup, would like to believe that Kohli is back to his former self. Yes, he struggled for timing in the first game against Pakistan. Yet, he was the joint top-scorer in that game. Except for that ugly hoick across the line against Sri Lanka, he never really struggled in any of the game. His fluency was there, the trademark shots were all there. It certainly looked like he is back to his fluent best. The scores are there to prove the point further. With the World T20 coming up and India not sure of qualifying for the WTC finals, Kohli’s runs will prove vital for India.

I have always believed that Kohli needs rest. He must be out of the game and out of the eyes of the public for awhile. I believed that it will do him a world of good. He has been through a lot over the last 15 months. First was the Adelaide humiliation. It would have devastated any captain. Kohli was in a sense lucky that he came back to India for the birth of his child. The fact that he wasn’t part of the victorious Indian team in Australia must have rankled him.

A time of great upheaval

He resigned the Indian T20 captaincy but continued to be the captain for the Test and ODI sides. Before the start of the IPL season, he announced that he will no longer be the captain of RCB. He failed to win the IPL despite multiple attempts. To make matters worse, India under Kohli exited in the first round of the World T20 in 2021. The absolute nadir was when India failed to win the series in South Africa. A series everyone expected India to comfortably win their first ever series in that country completed in utter disarray when Kohli alongwith Rahul and Ashwin was involved in screaming at the stumps.

Surprisingly though correctly, he was removed as the captain of both ODI and Test sides. In the meanwhile he had his own run-ins with the board president Saurav Ganguly with Kohli saying onething and Ganguly the exact opposite. All of these must have taken a heavy toll on Kohli. A lesser mortal would have by now left the game altogether. Yes, the Indian team is overworked. Most of the players are playing constantly.

Break that he much deserved

However, Kohli’s case is different. He was mentally affected and that showed in his form. It would have made perfect sense if he had asked for a lengthy break. He was given a month off. It is not clear whether Kohli asked for the break or was it the board’s decision. Nevertheless, Kohli had a short break. As Kohli himself agreed, the break rejuvenated him.

“Six weeks off, I was refreshed, I understood after taking a break how tired actually I was mentally and physically. Your competitiveness doesn’t allow you to take that call, but I think it was a blessing in disguise for me. I wanted to be the best version of myself for the team, and when I came here, when I started playing in the nets, I felt like my old rhythm was coming back. It was just about getting those performances in the middle again.”

“Personally, since I’ve come back from a break where I didn’t touch the bat for the longest time in the 13-14 years I’ve played, a lot of things were put into perspective,” Kohli told Rohit in a chat on BCCI’s official portal

The 71^st

When the moment arrived, the 71^st hundred, the usual angry celebration was not seen. Instead, it was replaced with a sense of relief. Kohli just stood there with alarm aloft, looked up at the sky, kissed the ring and acknowledged everyone in the ground. Talks about his lack of hundred will settle down. No one, including Kohli expected him to break the hoodoo in this format. This is perhaps his least favourite. Nonetheless, it is better to break the hoodoo somewhere. The highlight for me of his 71^st century was the ferocious sweep of Rashid Khan. I have never seen Kohli play the sweep. I was under the impression that he cannot play the sweep. Now, I wonder why hasn’t he utilised this shot more often?

As Kohli approached the magical moment, the rest of the country did not bother that this was an inconsequential game and that India were already knocked out of the Asia Cup. All of us have waited for this for a very longtime. Everyone willed Kohli to get to that elusive ton. The small crowd at the stadium were treated to a masterclass. They were cheering Kohli on. When Kohli pulled the delivery over long on, the small crowd created enough noise to make up for the wide empty seats.

The image that will be etched in the minds of everyone who watched that game was that of an elderly gentleman in the background as he stood there applauding a truly magical innings bowing to The King.

Wrapping up Virat Kohli is amongst the runs and it is refreshing

The joy in Kohli’s batting looks to be back. Now that he does not have the captaincy related things to take care of, he can truly concentrate on his batting and once again become the all-conquering batsman.

India have once again exited in a multi-nation tournament for the 2^nd successive time. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, the team exited in the very first round after losing to Pakistan and New Zealand and now, if Hong Kong is discounted as a viable opponent, India have again exited in the first round. The Indian team management, the selectors, the board and the supporters will be really worried about this early exits. One major reason for the Asia Cup exit is the lack of penetrative bowlers. This is a major concern. Bumrah was injured but if one bowler’s unavailability hampers the entire bowling attack, it is not a bowling attack at all. Asia Cup where are the bowlers for India?

Were there any positives?

The one major positive for India is the runs and the authoritative manner by which the runs were scored by Virat Kohli. Except for the game against Sri Lanka, he was amongst the runs in all the game topping it with his first hundred in T20. Kohli has clearly adjusted to the new method of batting. There was a small passage of play against Pakistan where he looked unconvincing but once he passed that phase, the old Kohli was clearly seen. This is a great news for the Indian team with the World T20 coming up followed by 6 very important Tests which will determine whether the team can qualify for the WTC finals.

The other positive was the batting of Rohit Sharma. He did not flinch once and walked the talk. He batted quite positively in all the games but one major worry for him and for the team will the fact that except for the game against Sri Lanka, he didn’t go onto a substantial score. A similar score against Pakistan, perhaps we could have posted a score that Pakistan would have found unsurmountable.

Apart from these two, I am afraid I do not see any other positive, whereas, the negatives were far too many.

Rahul the unfit opener

When the Indian team decided to change their approach to the limited overs game, it looks like Rahul was absent for that class. Rahul is afraid to look ugly while playing shots and hence, he is unwilling to change his game to suit the needs of the team. It shows in his consistent slow starts. His slow starts increases the pressure on Rohit and the rest of the batsmen to follow. They are forced to bat at a higher clip than ideal. He is not anchoring the innings either because more often than not, he gets out quickly. The same Rahul at number 5 will be devastating but the team management for some reason does not seem to understand this simple thing. It is time India look somewhere else for an opener to partner Rohit in T20 cricket.

The disappointing Pant

Pant is clearly a misfit in T20. There was a time when it was thought that his game suited the shortest format but he has found the going really tough. Partly because he does not get full value for his shots which really frustrates him and as a result, he gives away his wicket. Perhaps, he is the opener that India is looking for. If he is not good enough to open the innings, he is not good enough to be in the team. Dinesh Karthik is a better finisher than Pant. Taking into account his obvious talent, he has been given lots of opportunities.

Most of the time, at a high enough spot ahead of specialist batsmen. Yet, he hasn’t lived upto the expectations. Rohit and Dravid took the bold decision of dropping him in the first game but because of Jadeja’s unavailability, Pant was recalled. I think it didn’t make any sense. Do not pick a left-hander just for the sake of it.

Hardik Pandya & Surya Yadav went missing during the business end

He had a fabulous game against Pakistan but completely fell by the wayside in the subsequent games. In hindsight, it was probably wrong to have rested him for the Hong Kong game. He must have been itching after a very successful game against the arch-rival but the decision to rest him may have subconsciously affected him and perhaps he felt that he need to prove again which resulted in such a poor showing the second time around against the same opponents. He had 2 consecutive bad games and both of them mattered the most. Pandya failed to perform with both bat and ball in both the games. If only he had scored some runs, India could have posted more than 200 against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It could have been the difference.

Surya on the otherhand, played a blazing knock against Hong Kong but was found wanting against better bowling attacks. It is a concern because Surya is expected to handle the number 4 position for the foreseeable future and if he struggles against good bowlers, perhaps he is not cut-out for international cricket.

Bowlers not good enough to play even school cricket

Kumar ended the tournament with a fabulous spell of 5 wickets for 4 runs. An extraordinary spell but it came when there was nothing at stake for the team. The same Kumar when entrusted with much higher responsibility, came a cropper. 19 runs against Pakistan in the 19^th over and 14 runs against Sri Lanka in the 19^th over. He virtually did not leave anything for Arshdeep to defend. He had effectively finished the game in the 19^th over itself. Much was expected of Kumar in the absence of Bumrah and Harshal but he came out of it a loser.

Chahal and Ashwin are not fit for T20. Chahal especially does not have a clue how and what to bowl. He kept on tossing the ball even when he was clobbered. He was neither able to pick up wickets nor was he able to bowl a tightline. The result, the opponents took the game away easy during the middle overs. I do not know why was Ashwin back in the squad for T20.

Arshdeep has decent potential but with his pace, he will hardly be able to trouble any batsman. He needs to increase his pace and accuracy a lot more to be effective at this level. A left-armer fast bowler will be an asset but will he listen? Avesh Khan, he has got lot more to improve than Arshdeep.

Wrapping up Asia Cup where are the bowlers for India?

Sehwag was correct when he said that Indian bowlers are not top class if they are not able to defend 182 and 173. India will have to look for spinners who can be threatening in the middle overs. Ashwin, Jadeja & Chahal do not fit that purpose. Bowlers with real pace are required. If the team is going to depend on Bumrah for way too long, it calls for trouble. I really do not know what is the point of a multi-million dollar extravaganza called the IPL?

Other Asia Cup blogs

About SKY

About Rahul

First game

About India

There was a time when BCCI held absolute powers over the Indian cricketers. Ofcourse, they have much of the same powers but will not take the unilateral action that the office bearers in 1989 took. It was a time when no one knew who was correct with lack of information. Social media or even the internet was unheard of. Satellite television was an unknown commodity. Doordarshan with its hazy pictures was the only source of entertainment. Things moved quite slowly in the country but in the BCCI, things progressed at the pace of a Shaun Tait’s yorker. Remembering the old times when BCCI banned cricketers.

The year was 1989. India under Dilip Vengsarkar, had just lost a series in the West Indies. Cricketers of that era were paid just a pittance of what the current players are earning. Endorsements were few and far between. The players toiled on the field for little reward off the field. Their careers are short and beyond cricket, they do not know anything else to do. They have to secure their future and the future of their families. It is not wrong for the players to try and earn extra income from somewhere. Ofcourse, legally.

The players who were banned

However, the BCCI will have none of it. They banned 6 players. Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Mohammed Azharuddin, Kiran More and Arun Lal for one year. They were also fined 35,000 Rs. For players of that era, that is equivalent to 2-3 months of income. Six others were fined 50,000 Rs. All for the trivial offense of participating in series of games against West Indies and Pakistan in America. All of them were unofficial games. After the West Indies series, India were not scheduled to play anyone for sometime and hence, the players had time on their hands. They opted to play in America to earn much needed income. There is nothing wrong with that but the board went ahead and banned them just because these games were unsanctioned by them. It was the attitude of a conqueror on the conquered.

The board wanted to impose themselves on the players and assert their authority. The entire nation was stunned by the decision. Ofcourse, the board had their supporters too but the majority of the country men and women was against the board’s decision.

Raj Singh Dungarpur, the then chairman of selection committee said, “You could revamp the entire Indian Cabinet and nobody will notice. But you change one player in the cricket team and 600 million people will have a definite opinion on it because they genuinely believe it is their business.”

Ofcourse we will because cricket was the only entertainment during that era and the game was followed by the majority religiously.

Supporters and adversaries

The action of the board aroused the entire nation from our deep slumber. Soli Sorabjee, the noted lawyer, challenged the board’s decision in the Supreme Court. He called the ban as ‘savage’. Congress, the dominant party of that time was split with some supporting and some opposing.

The former captains, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Bishen Singh Bedi supported the ban stating that the players were not above the game.

“They have broken the contract on purpose. It has been happening a little too much of late. Somebody had to put a stop to it, “said Pataudi.

However, the New Zealand board was worried because they did not want to host a second string Indian team. They were afraid that it will affect their income and it certainly would have affected gate receipts. Afterall, not now, even then, it was India who was running the game with the passionate crowd.

Graham Dowling, the then chief of New Zealand cricket, said, “We want the first string Indian side here. A second string would definitely affect the gates.” Talking to INDIA TODAY from Christchurch, he added:  “We will review everything at our meeting shortly.”

Important series lined up

With series lined up against Pakistan, New Zealand and at Sharjah, the unavailability of these players would have meant easy wins for the opponents. Unlike now, the Indian bench strength was negligible. A second string team would not have been of any match to the opposition. The host nations cannot afford to host such a team which will affect their revenue.

There was anger and disbelief throughout the nation as the news of the ban started to spread. Only can only imagine if the current news channels had been there. They would have had a field day. They would have had content that will run from few days to few weeks. Everything would have been dissected threadbare.

The players were all offered encouragement by common people. They were supported tooth and nail because of what they saw and felt was vendetta by the board.

Ranbir Singh, the then honorary secretary of the board, said, “The ban decision was taken after full consideration and keeping the larger interests of the game in mind.” 

Gavaskar was equally vehement

“Oh, I’m so touched! Why should they find excuses to impose disciplinary action? They wanted to prove who is the boss.”

The board administrators clearly felt that the players were getting too big for the boots and hence they must be riled in. The opportunity presented itself in the form of this unauthorised tour and the board seized it. 

Eventually, the ban was lifted after negotiations between the players and the board and after tremendous public outcry who saw the board as overbearing. Let us remember that the Indian team is the only team in the world who does not have a player’s union. The board takes serious offense to such attempts.

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India were lucky to have won the league game against Pakistan. If not for a freak Pandya innings, they would have been humbled. There are no two ways to look at that. India made heavy weather of a moderate chase that it almost scuttled at the end. The second game, Super-4, showed how difficult will it be for India to emerge triumphant this time around. India lost the game with glaring negatives.

Jadeja’s loss just before the game was morale shattering. Jadeja is a multi-talented cricketer. He can bat cautiously and he can also bat aggressively. He can bowl few overs of spin and not to mention that fact that he is a brilliant fielder. The loss of such a cricketer will affect any team. It was no secret that it affected India and going by the team selection, they were clueless how to replace him. Axar Patel is not a patch on Jadeja and there is no proof to show that he would have prevailed with the bat against Pakistan’s fast bowlers. Hence, he wasn’t considered. Understandably so. Deepak Hooda was considered inplace of Jadeja.

Judging by the fact that he wasn’t given a single over, he played as a proper batsman. In that case, what was he doing so late down the order? It was clear that he didn’t have the aggressive game against the faster Pakistan bowlers. He could have batted just after Surya and before Pant.

Pant may now realise the reason he is not considered

Speaking of Pant, it will now be clear for him and for all his supporters, why is he not preferred in T20? Karthik was dropped for no fault of his only to accommodate a left-hander. The side story here is that if the Indian team management is so particular about left-handers, why did they not insist on retaining Ishan Kishan? Be that as it may, Pant has been given several opportunities and every time he plays a foolish shot to get out. He plays the sweep really well but reverse sweep? I do not think that the Indian players try that shot in the nets.

The delivery that he got out called for traditional sweep. It was a googly, right on his pad. If he had swept and in some gap, he could have fetched another boundary having scored one of the previous delivery but not for him. He will always want to try something dramatic and came out the reverse sweep. He was never in control of that shot having stretched far too forward to fetch the ball and lost balance resulting in his tame dismissal.

Pant must realise that the team management gives lot of importance to his batting abilities and that is the reason he is sent at number 4 or 5 constantly. He will have to justify that faith but at the moment, he is woefully falling short.

The Indian openers

The Indian openers gave an unusually flying start. Ofcourse, Rahul took too many deliveries that will not be reflected in his strike rate. Nevertheless, it was a good start having scored 62 in the powerplay but far too often, neither of them goes onto play a long innings. There is no point in playing match winning knock against minnows but against top bowling team, it is important one of the opener plays a long innings. I don’t mean occupy one end. I meant long innings with high strike rate.

Rohit nowadays is content on playing cameos. Perhaps, his game is not suited for the all-out attack. That is the precise reason Rohit and Rahul must be split. With the exit of Jadeja and the lack of another left-handed option, Pant may continue to man the middle order but I would say, make him open the innings with Rohit with Rahul moving down the order where he will be devastating. Do not worry about a left-hander in the middle order. Trust your right handed batsmen to play the opposition spinners effectively.

From hero to villain in one game

For Hardik Pandya, it was all roses a game earlier but now, he proved way too expensive. More than 10 runs an over is expensive by any standards. It could be just one game but India will have to decide whether Pandya can be the 3^rd seamer? The selectors have blundered in not picking an extra seamer. Perhaps, in Bumrah and Harshal’s absence, Shami could have been a better choice. Kumar on the otherhand, one will never know what went into his head. He bowled length deliveries of the 19^th over. He made life easy for the Pakistani batsmen. Kumar is an excellent exponent of the yorker but for some reason that only he can understand, he didn’t bowl them enough. If only he had given 10 more runs to defend, perhaps Arshdeep would have defended.

Speaking of Arshdeep, it really is unfortunate that he is being targetted for dropping a catch albeit a simple one. It happens in the game. Perhaps, he only mistake he did was to smile after dropping the catch.

The absolutely hopeless tail

Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Chahal, 3 absolute mugs with the bat. In this day and age, it is hard to believe that there are cricketers who does not know how to hold a bat. No team can afford such a lengthy and useless tail. Rohit and Dravid must address this problem immediately. Chahal can be replaced with Ashwin who will not be worser than Chahal in terms of bowling but can bat better. Fielding-wise, both are in the same league. Arshdeep, is the only seamer to support Kumar, thanks to the wise selectors.

The only bright spot

Kohli seems to be finally getting his old-self back. His innings was pristine against the searing pace of Hasnain and Rauf. Kohli was in his element. It was good to see a champion batsman against ferocious fast bowlers. None of the Pakistan fast bowlers troubled Kohli even a wee bit. Such was his command.

“Today I was making a conscious effort to strike at a higher pace,” he said. “When we lost wickets, there was communication and our plans changed, where I had to bat till the 18th with Hooda. If there were a couple of batters, I would’ve gone with the same tempo and tried to hit more boundaries or sixes. But again, I ended up being in a situation where I had to go deep.”

Wrapping up India lost the game with glaring negatives

Karthik can come in for Hooda. Perhaps, in the absence of good bowlers, it will be wiser for India to pack the team with batsmen so that they can look to score or defend 200.

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About SKY

About Rahul

First game

Last over of the innings. Surya is at the striker’s end. He has already brought a middling score into a defendable one. Will he be able to propel this score into the insurmountable? Can Surya be the Hussey of India?

First ball, the ball was just outside the off-stump. He just turns his wrists slightly to send the ball soaring over the deep backward point region for 6. Second ball, the bowler Haroon Arshad, directs the ball well wide of off. He must have thought that Surya will try to make room to play the inside out shot over covers. Instead, Surya moves with the ball and slices a drive and the result was an effortless six. Third delivery, Surya sends the ball straight down the pitch for another six. At this point, Ramesh on commentary, Tamil ofcourse, mentioned that Yuvraj’s record of 6 sixes is under threat but he missed the 4^th delivery.

However, of the next delivery, normal service resumes and the ball is sent over fine leg for another 6. With the final delivery, 2 more runs were added and with that Surya had managed to propel a below-par total into an insurmountable one. It was Surya’s innings that allowed Rohit and bowl Avesh and Arshdeep their full quota despite being turned into a pair of net bowlers.

A bit of a slow starter

Surya Yadav is a late bloomer. Up until a few years ago, no one knew who Surya was. He is playing for Mumbai and one hasn’t heard anything extraordinary from him. We all heard about the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan but Surya was never in the radar. He hasn’t hard a stellar first class career either averaging in the 40s. In Ranji Trophy, if you are averaging below 50, it is as good as you aren’t that good enough to represent the country.  Things began to change for Surya and change for the better.

It was not until his second coming for Mumbai Indians, that his fortune began to shift. Ever since, he has aggregated atleast 300 runs in every IPL season. Around the sametime, his number for Mumbai in T20 cricket also began to shine through. Another impressive aspect of his T20 batting is his strike rate. Upwards of 150 in most of the innings he has played. This despite the fact that he was not considered a certainty in the Indian squad and has batted as an opener till number 5 in the order.

Most versatile Indian batsman in T20

He has now emerged as the most important Indian batsman in the shortest format. The consistency that he has shown is incredible. The array of strokes if breathtaking. He effortlessly shifts gears, seemingly looking to defend the ball but actually eyeing the fine-leg or cow-corner. The knock at Nottingham was really fantastic. Chasing over 200 with the team at 13/2, he scored a scintillating hundred when the other batsmen could not manage more than 28. The calmness that Surya showcases at the crease must be seen to be believed. He always thinks that he can win a game of his own. That is calmness and confidence bundled together.

The number 2 ranked batsman in T20

Cricket rankings are not fool-proof. Nonetheless, is such a short span, he is within striking distance of becoming the number one T20 batsman. He must be able to achieve that ranking within the next few months. An in-form Surya in the middle and a maverick at that, the Indian team will be much tougher team at the T20 World Cup.

Will he go onto achieve what Hussey did?

Surya has the game and the confidence to achieve what Hussey managed. Hussey got his chance pretty late in his career, mainly because of the incredible array of batsmen the Australians possessed during that period. India on the otherhand, is missing a couple of reliable middle order batsmen who can support Kohli. If his Ranji Trophy records are anything to go by, I am afraid it does not paint a pretty picture of the batsman. He averages in the early 40s which for a batsman of his potential does not really do any justice. Success in white ball cricket does not necessarily transfer to red-ball. The likes of Bevan will vouch for that.

Much was expected of the former Tamil Nadu batsman, S. Badrinath. Just like Surya, he made his debut for India in his early 30s. He did not prove that successful. Ofcourse, he wasn’t given consistent enough chances to prove his mettle. If at all Surya wants to create a name for himself in the highest format, he will have to break into the team during the current season. India will be playing 6 home tests against Bangladesh and Australia. Australia is a tough side but he cannot hope for a better outing than playing in India. Environs that he knows about inside out.

Wrapping up can Surya be the Hussey of India?

Emulating Michael Hussey will not be easy. He was a man in a hurry, willing to make up for lost time. Hussey was one of the Aussie batsman who played both spin and pace pretty well. Surya’s ability against genuinely good fast bowling is yet to be tested though his ability against spin is unquestioned. The time is quite ripe for Surya though. Both Rahane and Pujara are no longer certain of their position in the team. Shreyas was found wanting in every format. Vihari with his Pujara like approach is not inspiring confidence either. In such a scenario, India need a batsman who has the game to score runs against every opposition.

Surya can score runs quickly. No problem with that but will he be able to do that in all conditions against all the bowlers? That is a question only Surya can answer through his performance.

What do you think? Do you think Surya has the game to contribute to Indian cricket team even in Tests? Do let me know in the comments section.

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Lokesh Rahul

India won but…

The Indian cricket team management is in a very difficult position. They are neither able to drop Rahul from the playing eleven nor are they able to cajole him into batting aggressively. Rahul’s batting against Hong Kong in the Asia Cup leaves a lot to be desired about his position. The fact that he is the vice-captain and the defacto captain must not have any influence on cricketing logic. I have often said this. Rahul is not an opener. His ideal position is in the middle order. I will continue to write this until the message is put across. So, what is eating Lokesh Rahul?

Rahul is coming back after a lengthy lay-off due to injury. Except for the 3 games against Zimbabwe, he hasn’t had a serious hit for more than a couple of months. He is bound to be rusty and that clearly showed in Zimbabwe. Be that as it may, it is not now but Rahul has been found wanting for a very longtime whenever he opens the innings. It does not matter whether it is red-ball cricket or white-ball cricket. He is unsure what to do when asked to open. He does not score quickly and as a result, it puts enormous amount of pressure on the middle and lower order.

In Test cricket, the other batsmen will be able to overcome but in white ball cricket and especially, in T20, it is tough for the following batsmen to make amends for Rahul’s slow batting because Rahul would have already eaten up lot of deliveries. Every batsman needs a few deliveries to settle down. I agree but Rahul takes way too many deliveries to settle down.

Laborious innings against a mediocre attack

Against Hong Kong, it was worse. Here you are up against a mediocre bowling attack and yet, you are struggling to push the ball off the square. If Rahul is incapable of handling Hong Kong’s bowling, what chances does he have against Afghanistan and Pakistan? It is likely that India will play Pakistan twice before the end of the tournament and we just cannot afford a top order suspect to open. Rahul innings was so slow that if not for a freakish Surya innings, India would have finished well below par. It is a crime not to score at a strike rate in excess of 100 against a side like Hong Kong. India will again play Pakistan and Afghanistan in the super-4s. Afghanistan possess good spinners and Pakistan have good bowlers. At this rate, how is he going to respond to that challenge is anybody’s guess.

His ideal position is down the order where he is free to hit. Rahul definitely has all the shots in the book. He is good of the front foot as well as of the backfoot. He does not have any shortcoming with either spinners or fast bowlers. The problem is in his head. Having played for so long, it is unfortunate that Rahul has still not understood his game. If opening is the only slot where Rahul can fit, it really is a shame because he is not suited for thar role.

Pant is a better option to open

It will be better for India to replace Rahul with Pant. I know I have been a critic of Pant in the short formats but an unsure Rahul is a liability and I do not mind opening with Pant in T20. Pant is someone who thrives with field restriction. He will be able to get complete value for his shots which he will not when he plays down the order. Also, being a left-hander, him opening with Rohit will make the bowlers change their plan often. With Rahul and Rohit, the bowlers pretty well know what length and line to bowl. India will have to make complete use of its potential. Pant is a mercurial batsman. He can tear the attack apart or he can fall early. Either way, the bowlers will be wary and they will always have in the back of their minds what Pant is capable of.

Supporters for Rahul

Sunil Gavaskar has supported Rahul and his slow batting.

“I think KL Rahul is a class act. With the kind of performance he has had over the years for India… if you give others a long rope, why can’t we give KL Rahul a long rope?

He is your vice-captain as well. You give him a long rope because we have all seen what he is capable of in the T20 format.

He is coming back from an injury, so that the rhythm is not quite there but the rhythm will come and when it comes, it will be devasting for the opposition.”

Gautham Gambhir says

“KL Rahul has so much ability. I will not hesitate to say that in this dressing room, he probably has more ability than Rohit Sharma and he has shown that by doing it in international cricket. Only he can stop himself if he doesn’t play freely.”

“He doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. You have seen in international cricket and the IPL, you are only holding yourself back, just go play. T20 cricket was created so that you can express yourself.”

I do not what performance is Gavaskar talking about. Let us not forget that until as recently as 2020, Rahul was not considered an automatic pick in Tests. A couple of freak injuries to Gill and Mayank Agarwal forced the team management to pick Rahul. If as Gavaskar says Rahul is performed exceedingly well, he would not have been dropped in the first place.

Also, it really is a pity that everyone brings up his IPL performance where the competition is few rungs lower than international standards. Just ask Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh.

Wrapping up what is eating Lokesh Rahul?

I probably think that Rahul wants to look stylish all the time. He wants to play the perfect strokes and does not want to look ugly at the crease. If this is the case, he needs help. No amount of coaching will make him change. He needs someone with proven mental abilities to tell him that it is alright to look ugly.

A target that must have resulted in a comfortable chase, proved to be too great for the Indian team. It required the brilliance of Hardik Pandya to get over the line. What must have been a walk in the park chase, nearly ended up being completely chuffed up. Yes we won the game but requestions remain.

First the positives

The bowlers were absolutely brilliant with Kumar leading from the front. Kumar was at his best right from the beginning. He did not let the likes of Rizwan and Babar to get away off to a good start. He cramped both of them for room. The pressure played a part in Babar’s heave which resulted in his wicket. That wicket literally set Pakistan back by a few overs. He came back towards the end and nipped two quick wickets which put paid to any hopes Pakistan might have had of posting a strong total.

Arshdeep Singh was another bowler who impressed with his control. He went for some runs towards the end but that was understandable. Playing in his first game in a high voltage game against the arch-rival is never easy for someone who is inexperienced. That is overcame such anxieties and came out on top bodes well for his future. Once Bumrah and Harshal returns, Arshdeep will go back to the ranks but till then, if he keeps up with the performance, it will be hard to relegate him to the sideline.

Hardik Pandya’s brilliant allround performance

I have often been a critique of Hardik Pandya of seemingly his loss of enthusiasm to play for the country. At the sametime, I have also said that if he gets his act together, he can a very good cricketer. He has already lost lot of time of his prime and he can ill-afford to do that again if he wants history to remember him. In this game atleast he proved his worth. If not for his extraordinary stroke making towards the end, things would have been much tough for India.

The highlight of Pandya’s performance was not his batting but his bowling. There was constant talk to whether he will be able to complete his quota of 4 overs because of his fitness but to everyone’s amazement, he not only completed his quota but picked up 3 vital wickets. All of his wickets were of top and middle order. His bowling ensured that Pakistan were never within any striking distance of a tall score.

Onto the negatives

There were quite a few and all of them are worrying. Not just for this tournament but also the T20 World Cup in a couple of months.

First is the selection of Rahul as the opening partner for Rohit. I have written this often and I will say this again. Rahul is not a natural opener. Whenever he is asked to open, he is lost for direction. He is neither able to bat aggressively nor is able to rotate strike. As a result, he hogs the strike and by the time he is settled, the game would have progressed a long way. Moreover, Rahul is coming off an injury and is severely short of game fitness. His short stint in Zimbabwe wasn’t anything to be pleased about. If at all he must be included, it must be as a middle order batsman rather than as an opener.

The top three conundrum

The top three of Rohit, Rahul and Kohli are similar type of batsmen and none of them are capable of striking at more than 175. In the powerplay, that is so vital. Can India afford such a top 3 in the remaining games? I do not think so. The one option is to replace Rahul with Pant or Deepak Hooda at the top.

Pant is not as flamboyant a batsman as he is a Test cricketer. A cut through point which will give him 4 in Test will result in 1 in T20 and he feels severely curtailed. In his impatience to score quickly, tries one too many shots and gets out. That is the reason for a low strike rate and average for a batsman of Pant’s ability. Perhaps, opening the innings might just unleash the inner Pant. With powerplay restriction, he will get the full value for his shots.

Deepak Hooda is another who is in good form at the moment. He is coming off of a good hundred albeit against Ireland. Including him will give Rohit one more bowling option. He may even decide to drop one of the bowler.

I tend to favour Pant because he is a left handed batsman and alongwith Rohit at the top, will prove to be an ideal foil.

The form of Rohit and Kohli

It is a worry. Make no mistake about that though Kohli ended up as the joint top-scorer for India. More is expected of those experienced batsmen. They batted far too many deliveries and got out at the most inopportune moment in quick succession. It developed enormous amount of pressure on the middle order which required the brilliance of a Pandya innings to overcome.

Rohit struggled for timing and Kohli tried way too hard. With 2 more games including the finals expected against Pakistan, these two batsmen must be in good form. More so Rohit because much depends on the start he gives.

Wrapping up yes we won the game but questions remain

The current generation of Indian batsmen have completely forgotten the art of playing spin. It is so unfortunate. None of the Indian batsmen play Ranji Trophy and as a result, they do not that many spinners. It clearly shows at the highest level. Moreso, in T20 where it just isn’t advisable to block the spinners. Spinners must be scored against and there are no two ways around it. Here however, both Rohit and Kohli remained strokeless. This is a serious concern because Afghanistan have better spinners than any team in his competition.

Every team now stops India from scoring with their spinners. Even the likes of Santner have prevailed against us. It is time the Indian board make it mandatory for every Indian cricketer to play atleast 3-4 Ranji games every year. This will rekindle their ability to play spin better.

Though the performance of the bowlers was brilliant, having restricted Pakistan to 147, the final overs were a big let down. Pakistan must have been bowled out for less than 130 having had them 9 down for 128 but the last wicket was allowed to flourish and they added 21 runs in 8 deliveries. This is something the team cannot afford. Avesh Khan and Chahal must have had more impact. This will be a spin friendly tournament and India’s ability to counter them with a strategy will help.

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