Rohit, Cummins and England

It has been a good start for the Indian captain Rohit Sharma, with the bat and with his changes on the field. As for Cummins, it has not been an ideal start but with the win against Sri Lanka, he has atleast got the Australians off the mark. As for England, they do have severe problems with their cricket. They will have to adapt to the conditions on offer and cannot bat at their usual flamboyance in this whole tournament. The absence of Ben Stokes for a serious blow. England will have to get him involved in the mix because the task before them is quite steep. Let me write about Rohit, Cummins and England.

Let me begin with England

England need to win 5 of their remaining 6 games. They have games coming up against India, Pakistan, Australia and the in-form South Africa. That is a tall order by any means. It signifies that they must be on top of their game day in and day out. England needs their talisman, Ben Stokes, fit and firing. Everyone is aware of his match-winning potential. By sitting on the bench, he is not doing anyone any favour. England brought him recognising the fact that he would not be available for atleast 4 games. They would have expected to win atleast 3 of them comfortably but now find themselves with just 1 win out of 3 which includes a shocking loss to Afghanistan. Now, they are in a race against time to get their premier cricketer fit before the next game.

Against South Africa, who are in prime form, even the best of Stokes may not be enough but that discussion is for another day. They need to win the next game to be in contention for the final 4. If England loses to South Africa, they will have one leg on the exit door. Against India and Pakistan, on such turning pitches, England’s chances will reduce drastically. They can hope to pull one over Pakistan but against India, the odds are stacked against them.

England must get their eleven perfect

I have said this before and I will say this again. I do not see Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and Liam Livingstone all part of the same eleven. Especially, Curran and Woakes. What were England thinking when these two were selected is beyond me. Perhaps, they expected to continue with their cavalier approach and would have expected an absolute belter of pitches which meant a longish batting order. Not now, even when England began with their changed outlook towards white-ball cricket, they were still short of quality bowlers.

I do not see anyone in the dressing room who can solve this problem. Moeen Ali is more of the same as that of Curran and Woakes. If Stokes is unfit to take the field against South Africa, it is better to send him home and ask for a batsman as a replacement. Ofcourse, they will have to hope that they survive the weekend.

Change in the batting order is perhaps warranted and also a change in the mindset is required. They cannot bat like how they bat in England. They need to analyse the pitch and bat accordingly. If it is a belter, by all means, bat the usual way but if it is turning, aim for a competitive score.

Rohit Sharma and the World Cup

Rohit has become a behemoth when it comes to the World Cup. He missed a hundred against Pakistan which could have become his 8^th. This year, except for the early dismissal against Australia, he has begun well. Against the arch-rival, he turned a tricky chase into a breeze by his strokeplay. With Kohli and Rahul producing meaningful runs, India must be fairly confident. Gill is back after a bout of dengue. It is tough to recover from such illness and regain match fitness. He will probably need a couple of more weeks to return to peak fitness.

Rohit has often spoken about the need to change the way the top-order bats in white-ball cricket. He wanted to mimic England’s method but encountered failures during the initial period. It did not deter him from adopting a more aggressive posture. He gave the team a quick start but was often unable to proceed to a big score. In the current World Cup, in 2 games, he literally killed the chase by the time he departed.

These are early days and the tournament is a long winding one. It remains to be seen whether Rohit will be able to keep up with this approach. The evidence over the last 2 years suggests that Rohit is not about to take a backfoot. He intends to carry on with his newfound resolve and confidence. He must also be commended for the way he bats despite the inconsistent returns of Shubman Gill who has become more or less the regular partner. Rohit the batsman and Rohit the captain must stand head and shoulders above anyone else if India has to win the tournament.

The curious case of Cummins

Australia just paused their struggling campaign with a win against an Asian nation. The draw has not been kind to them with 2 tough teams at the start. Now, Australians will feel a bit relaxed having opened their account. Cummins is an excellent Test cricket bowler but in the ODI, he is almost a misfit. Mitchell Starc is Australia’s primary weapon with his ability to swing the white ball and Hazlewood provided a good support bowler. Cummins is neither here nor there. Unfortunately, he is the captain and will have to play in all the games. Australia just cannot drop him for another bowler. It is not that he cannot be dropped at all but to drop the designated captain during the middle of the campaign will hit the morale.

Much depends on Cummins’s ability with the ball if Australia hope to go beyond the final 4.