India’s young batters along with Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant showed enough intent to put on a score of above 200 runs in the first T20 against South Africa but sadly the bowlers in the end let them down.
On paper India might look the weaker of the two sides with experienced players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah missing. But India’s bench strength in the batting department should allow them to put up a decent total or chase down any target.
With the World Cup just four months away, it’s time India knows its 15 man squad at the end of this series and starts identifying the players and the roles they can play in Australian conditions. The batting has the fire power but which players would be ideally suited on the bouncy Australian pitches would be the biggest headache for the selectors. Similarly in the fast bowling, Bumrah is the only bowler who automatically picks himself in the squad. Who would be the other bowlers who would be selected for the World Cup and will the think tank make the right choice?
Australian conditions
Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pandya might be considered because of their experience but along with which other fast bowlers will India find good for the Australian conditions? Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja make the cut for the spinners but do India think beyond them?
After winning the first World Cup way back in 2007, India has yet to win it since. Six World Cups have gone begging after that and 15 IPls done and dusted but India has made it to the finals only in 2014 after the inaugural T20 World Cup when they lost to a resurgent Sri Lanka. The fans seem to be wondering why can’t India win the T20 World Cup inspite of so much talent?
This might be Sharma's and Kohli's last World Cup and both must be hoping to sign off with a win. But how will team India get its hands on the elusive trophy? The fine tuning of the squad starts now, India can’t leave it too late or it might be the same old story.
