Twenty20 may be mindless entertainment but it’s anything but mindless for the captains, whose brains get an unparalleled 80-minute workout. For Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, this has begun much before he has draped himself in his blue pajamas, but inscrutably covered-up by his deadpan visage and the inscrutable half-grin.
The dilemma goes thus; who to choose and who not to in their campaign-opener. Not a hamlet like procrastination. Neither a spoilt-for-choice conundrum. But a more straightforward, and now familiar, scenario. The diagnosis; India have played their last T20 international as far back as last October. The prognosis; there is too little recent history to derive your decisions from. The present doesn’t offer any precious insight either.
If India are to be guided by the proofs the practice game against Sri Lanka presented, only four are shoo-ins — Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin. Given their proven prowess in this format, Shikhar Dhawan and Ravindra Jadeja, too, might squeeze in. But the remaining five spots are up for grabs — the eventual shape of the eleven could be driven mostly by conditions and a little instinct, too.
The latter, especially, might be the decisive factor in picking the openers. Dhawan seemed to have rekindled his wonted self towards the latter phase of the New Zealand series and is likely to retain his spot against Pakistan. His partner, the only assurance, will be a Mumbaikar. With his incredible ability to impact matches, Rohit has a slight advantage, though his form across all formats hasn’t been exactly encouraging. Presently, he resembles a Mac user struggling with an obsolete ZX81.
His fellow Mumbaikar isn’t as languid — his batting marked by straight lines than devious arcs — but has taken into the format like a duck to a pond, fashioning many a win for his IPL franchisee Rajasthan Royals. Moreover, he is better off batting up front than in the middle-order, for he is a chip of the old-block than the modern-day rambler who straightaway embarks on a leather hunt. “As he has shown in the past, he can bat anywhere in the order. Of course, he likes opening, for it gives him time to settle down and because of the field restrictions, he can get more value for his shots. Both can bat anywhere in the line-up, though Rohit is a natural middle-order batsman while Rahane is the opposite,” opined former batsman Pravin Amre.
The middle-order is more or less settled with Raina, as in the practice game likely to bat at number three, followed by Kohli and Dhoni. Whether they would tweak in an extra batsman depends on whether Dhoni wants five specialists bowlers. Normally, Dhoni prefers a four-specialist bowler permutation--two spinners and as many pacers — with Yuvraj and Raina offering back-up. But a resurgent Amit Mishra, who befuddled Pakistan batsmen in the Asia Cup, could tempt Dhoni to summon an extra spinner. If so, one of either Rohit or Rahane could miss out.
The skipper is improbable to compromise with his two-pacer strategy. But who among their four pacers would sneak in is uncertain. Mohammed Shami is yet to make his international T20 debut. But is the brightest spot in India’s grim fast-bowling horizon. Bhuvneshwar Kumar seemed jaded and leaked 33 runs in three overs in the practice game. Varun Aaron was economical, by T20 standards, but is hugely erratic.
Mohit Sharma is raw, and that he didn’t feature in the warm-up game signals that is he isn’t in the picture.
Thus, Dhoni as well as the team strategists would be beset with endless confusions. Adversity can produce opportunity, however. The absence of a raft of Indian superstars gave a chance to others in the inaugural T20 World Cup. The response was encouraging to the extent that, far from going into matches believing that the opposition are there for the taking, India were forced to reassess each match, as new players appear and play with freedom. But alas, the progress was shunted. Maybe, it can begin afresh.