Indian team is unable to crack the T20 code. It has been a longtime since the world started to play T20 cricket. It was in 2007, when the first world T20 was held and South Africa and the following year IPL was introduced, T20 cricket exploded out of sight. So much so that every nation have their own T20 league. India by far is having the most lucrative league among all of them. Has this led to India having the best T20 team in the world? Has the team won more T20 titles than any other country? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Let me analyse further
For some reason, India, despite having the richest league in the world and the Indian players playing amongst some of the finest players with top facilities and support, is still not able to crack the T20 code. It really is a mystery. Over the years, there had been some good performers in IPL but the selectors never considered them for selection and instead depended on most of the players who had played test & ODI cricket. The selectors and the board failed to realise that T20 itself is different even from ODI and that they need an army of specialist in this format of the game. It is almost as if IPL does not even matter. I am not saying that IPL must be considered selection into the test and ODI teams but certainly it is the yardstick for selection in the T20 teams.
Other teams have understood the format
Some of the top T20 teams like England & Australia seems to have understood the needs of T20 cricket and have adapted their game accordingly. England are currently the trendsetters. They pack their team with batsmen who can hit the ball from the moment they walk in and with bowlers who can bat. They are not afraid to play shots and invariably end posting a huge score or are able to chase one. This has its drawback. England’s method at the top or the order is pretty clear. Jason Roy is in the team only to hit the ball to all corners of the ground. He is not required to stay in the wicket.
India on the otherhand, it completely confused what to do in a T20 game. Granted, they do have a lengthy tail in Bumrah, Chahal, Shami, Natarajan, Kuldeep and any of the other bowler. The top order is unsettled. Dhawan who was considered as a misfit until recently is back in the team. Rahul who was handling the wicket keeping section has now lost the gloves with the recall of Pant. Pant is not used appropriately to awaken his destructive best.
Shreyas Iyer is shuffled in the batting order far too often. As a result, a lot of responsibility for scoring runs has fallen on the shoulders of Kohli and Rohit. From the outside, it looks like the players and the team is one confused lot. No one seems to understand their role. It is not the fault of Kohli and Shastri but the selectors and the board who does not seem to understand how the game must be played.
Rahul under tremendous pressure
After the first 3 games against England, Rahul is under tremendous pressure. He failed in all the games and with Ishan Kishan scoring a breadthtaking 50, the pressure on Rahul has increased manifold. Now, that Pant is back in the team (I don’t think Pant must be in the T20 squad) the wicket keeping gloves has come off of Rahul. Rahul’s performance over the last few years was down purely to him keeping wickets. It sort of gave him license to play freely because he knew that he can contribute in one of them if not both. Also, Rahul enabled the team to play an additional player. Without the gloves, he feels one part of his body was removed without his permission and it shows in his performance.
Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant
It is time to condemn Shikhar Dhawan to the ODI format alone. Whatever he does in the IPL, he is a misfit when it comes to international T20. He contributes significantly in the ODI format and he must be left to concentrate only on that format.
Rishabh Pant is like Sehwag. He will be a tremendous test cricketer but an average limited overs cricketer. Sehwag said that because the field is up in test, scoring opportunities are more whereas in the limited overs, the field is spread and the scoring opportunities are also less. However, because of his exploits against Australia and England, he is back in the team. He must be used judiciously. The experiment of sending him at number 4 or 5 must stop. His ideal T20 position is at 6 or 7. He must come in with about 5-6 overs left and not with more than 10 left. He will be destructive if used properly.
Other changes
Time has come to bring in host of changes and with the World Cup only a few months away, it is imperative. Except for Bumrah and Natarajan, the team must be filled with batsmen. Chahal, Saini, Kuldeep and their like must not be considered. Only exceptional bowlers must be allowed to play as specialist bowler. Stop experimenting and play with proper team. Let Rohit open the innings with Ishan followed by 3 proper batsmen followed by Pant and few allrounders. The top and middle order must be free to play their shots and ensure that the score is always around 180 or capable of chasing high score.
Unless and until there is a drastic change in the mindset, it will be tough for the Indian team to be the best in the world.
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