CHENNAI: After the disappointing yet predictable ending to India's last T20 World Cup campaign in Australia, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) realised something had to change. That change, they held, had to be layered; leadership and a more dynamic top-order. Throughout the first half of 2023, Hardik Pandya had led the side and the top-order had Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan as the untouchables while a mix of Suryakumar Yadav, Rahul Tripathi, Tilak Varma and others did a job share at No. 3.
At the five-match series in the US and the West Indies (in the same grounds where the World Cup would be played in June), Yashasvi Jaiswal was blooded as they wanted at least one left-handed opener for the purposes of match-ups. It was the kind of thinking that some of the other teams had been doing in this format for at least the past decade (all World Cup winning teams, including India in 2007, had begun or finished the World Cup with at least one southpaw in the top three). India had moved away from it and thanks to a nature of a few untouchables in the top-order (Rohit, Kohli, and to an extent, KL Rahul), they were going against the grain.
That team in the West Indies and US last August was the first indication that the BCCI was going to wholeheartedly commit to the process of moving on from their elder statesmen in the shortest format. Never mind they lost the series but it was going to be the future, right? Between the World Cup in Australia and the end of 2023, they had identified the problem area (a finisher not named Hardik Pandya, a one-dimensional top-order and a lack of southpaws). So, they gave debuts to three openers, a few finishers including a southpaw (Rinku Singh) and a wicket-keeper (Jitesh Sharma).
In the end, all of this investment and experience has proved to be an illusion as the selectors went back to Rohit and Kohli with the former named captain (Jay Shah had named him during an event a few months ago so it doesn't come as a surprise) for the T20 World Cup next month. The first signs that the BCCI would go back to their two biggest batters came in January when they had made their comebacks during a home series against Afghanistan.
After embracing a more modern approach, why did they go back to Rohit and Virat, two players whose limitations in this format were front and centre in each of the last two editions in the UAE and Australia? To be fair to both of them, they have displayed an intent one wouldn't normally associate with them. At the 50-over World Cup (granted it's never good to mix formats), Sharma's penchant for quick starts gave the team the necessary platform. This version of the captain loves going over the in-field during the powerplay (his S/R of 170 in IPL 2024 is one of his best seasons ever). With Kohli, you know what you will get. The paternity break hasn't made him rusty; if anything, it has made him hungrier. His powerplay numbers (while opening) in IPL 2024 is similarly up (154.4; it has never been this high previously). It shows both of them are conscious about their weakness and are working towards addressing a long-standing issue.
Another possible reason for going back to the tried and tested could be the make-up of the pitches in the West Indies (as long as India qualify for the second group phase). They tend to be on the slower side with 170-180 about par. This being the case, a sedate powerplay may not be terminal to their chances.
However, there's still a glaring issue; both are susceptible against left-arm pace and can be tied down versus spin. Kohli, in fact, struggles a lot against left-arm spin. So, there are multiple negative match-ups that the opposition can look to exploit.
On balance, there's multiple pros and cons for sticking rather than twisting. The BCCI, like they have tended to do during big-ticket events, have fallen on the side of conservatism. Will Kohli and Sharma repay the faith the BCCI have continued to put in them?
The first set of answers will be available in the first week of June.
Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Rinku Singh
