There were times when people were willing to forego all worldly pleasures simply to catch West Indies and Sri Lanka cricketers in action. The brand of cricket played by the Caribbeans and Lankans was so breathtaking and exciting that it ceased to matter against whom they were pitted against as the curious eyes were fixated upon the pyrotechnics of the batsmen of the respective sides. Sadly, the scenario has drastically altered currently as both Windies and Lanka have come down so badly in the pecking order of world cricket that no one cares about the encounters involving the teams. This explains why there is no enthusiasm among cricket fanatics about India’s upcoming home series against the previously formidable but presently mediocre cricket nations.
As for Team India, it might have had the satisfaction of whitewashing a “pathetic” Windies outfit but the team knows very well that they haven’t played the cricket befitting their stature. For a change, their much-maligned middle-order performed the rescue acts twice in the just-concluded ODI series against the Windies. With the T-20 World Cup barely 8 months away in Australia, the time is very scarce for the Indian team to iron out certain flaws that have crept into the side’s game over the last 6 months or so. So, India would be well-served if they do not take the upcoming T-20 series against Windies and Sri Lanka lightly. They should utilise these relatively easy matches to get into the groove prior to the T-20 carnival in Australia. Therefore, we will list out the significant things Team India should do in these convenient games in the cool confines of their home conditions.
Try Out A New Opening Combo
With KL Rahul unavailable for the series, the time could not be more appropriate to try out a new opener to partner with Rohit Sharma. There is a general perception that KL Rahul can be more useful in the middle order than the opening slot but due to lack of viable alternatives, the Karnataka batsman is forced to do the job as the opener. But with some good options like Ishan Kishen, Ruturaj Gaekwad etc in the current mix and some relatively less stressful opposition to contend with, the occasion warrants a careful strategy to find a new opening batsman. Also, there is adequate time for the new batsman to come good to own the opening slot before the crucial T-20 World Cup this year.
Find The New All-rounder
Gone are the days of specialists as these days it is all about multi-utility/-dimensional players, especially in the ODI and T-20 formats. India have been lacking on this front for a while with Hardik Pandya, presently out of favour, being the only option apart from the Team India regular Ravindra Jadeja. Earlier the team had so many players who could roll their arm over apart from using their willows to good effect: Yuvraj, Sehwag, Sachin, Ganguly, etc. So, whenever one or two main bowlers had an off day or two these options could be employed by the captain.
Unfortunately, the current team is very deficient on this count. However, with the emergence of players like Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur etc India should ideally look to fill up the vacant slots of bowling all-rounders by giving these players a long rope. The onboarding process can begin with the upcoming series involving Windies and Lanka.
Good Opportunity For Main Batters To Strike Form
Both Virat and Rohit are vital to the prospect of Team India as far as batting is concerned. However, they are going through tough phases as batters for a while. Virat’s hardships are well documented and he has also lost some fine opportunities against the Windies recently to get some useful runs under his belt to get the confidence back. As for Rohit, barring the 50 in the first match, the current Team India captain of the short format has precious little to show.
Hence, these two match-winning players should use the upcoming games against not-so-formidable opposition to be ready for the big battles ahead. Runs on board do a world of good to the morale of any struggling player and both Virat and Rohit know this better than anyone else. By the way, Kohli is just 73 runs away from becoming the first T-20 batter to get 3300 runs in the format. So, there cannot be a better occasion for him to reclaim the ground that is deservedly his own.
