Sri Lanka’s sensational collapse against India for 50 in the Asia Cup finals, leading to an easy win for the home team, surprised one and all. Cricket fans in India have celebrated the triumph of their favourite squad, but they are equally aware that seriously tough challenges lie ahead.
The Men in Blue will take on Australia in a three-match ODI series that begins today. That will be followed by the 13th edition of the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, the quadrennial tournament that will be solely hosted by India this time.
Right now, the focus is on the short but crucial series against Australia, a strong side that recently surrendered a 2-0 advantage in the five-match ODI series against South Africa. South Africa inflicted three successive heavy defeats on the opposition to win the series 3-2. Australia will desperately want a morale-boosting series win, and so will India before the big event begins.
The Men in Blue will start the series without Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav, who have been rested for the first two matches. KL Rahul, who has silenced his critics with his performances after his return to the team, will steer the team’s ship in the absence of Sharma and Pandya, the former’s regular deputy.
Veteran Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar are part of the squad for the entire series. Ashwin and Sundar will compete for a place in the World Cup team if Axar Patel, who has suffered a left quadriceps strain, fails to recover in time. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Indian team’s captain for the Asian Games, might get an opportunity to open in the first two matches in Sharma’s absence. Gaikwad will leave for China to lead the Indian squad afterwards.
Apart from Patel, Shreyas Iyer’s fitness is a reason for worry, too. After missing out on a part of the Asia Cup, the gifted middle-order bat will be under observation during the three-match series. Tilak Varma, who is in the team for the first two matches, will hope to get an opportunity in the middle order.
Selectors will also monitor the performance of Suryakumar Yadav, the first-ranked batsman in the ICC T20 rankings. Yadav has failed to make an impact in the 50-over format, and the series against Australia has given him a precious opportunity to disprove those who believe that his approach to batting is inappropriate for one-day matches. The third match of the series against Australia will see the return of the chosen World Cup squad, along with Ashwin and Sundar. A race for a possible place in the squad, in other words, is about to begin.
For fans of Indian cricket, the Men in Blue will start as pre-tournament favourites to win the World Cup. The team will play on familiar pitches, thousands of supporters in the stadiums will back the players, and, most importantly, there is enough evidence of quality. Three batsmen are in the ICC ODI top ten batting rankings: Shubman Gill (2), Virat Kohli (8) and Rohit Sharma (10). Mohammed Siraj has raced to the number one spot among ODI bowlers, while Kuldeep Yadav is ranked ninth. Hardik Pandya is ranked sixth among ODI all-rounders. The sheer presence of several top-ten performers is good news for the team — and fans, too.
The Men in Blue had emerged victorious in the 2011 World Cup under MS Dhoni’s able leadership when India co-hosted the tournament with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Sachin Tendulkar was playing in his sixth World Cup and Virat Kohli his first one. Can the present team win a third World Cup for India? That is possible.
The team has a calm and shrewd captain in Sharma, who must be desperate to win an ICC title. The important parts of the squad’s machine are working efficiently. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, who constitute a strong opening attack, are quick, intelligent, skilled and accurate. Thakur gives some easy runs but has the knack of picking up wickets. Shami is an experienced operator who can be expected to be economical and take crucial wickets. Kuldeep Yadav is the chief spinner of the squad, a place for which the hardworking practitioner of his art has proved his worth.
Shubman Gill is the kind of batsman every team dreams of. He is technically solid, generously gifted, and has the ability to occupy the crease for a long time and get big scores. Rankings become irrelevant when we talk of Kohli, the best present-day ODI batsman, and Sharma, whose exploits in the format are well-known.
In Pandya, India has a vastly improved cricketer blessed with an excellent awareness of his role in the team. Pandya can open the bowling if necessary and score useful runs in the middle order while pacing his knock in accordance with the need of the hour. Kishan has justified his inclusion, while Jadeja is known for his ability to get quick runs down the order and pick up wickets at regular intervals.
The present Indian squad can be a formidable opponent for any team. It is carrying the burden of huge expectations. How it responds to the challenge remains to be seen as cricket lovers keep their fingers crossed.
The author, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature and pop culture. Among his books are ‘MSD: The Man, The Leader’, the bestselling biography of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, and the ‘Hall of Fame’ series of film star biographies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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