NEW DELHI: On Wednesday evening, when Tilak Varma sat down for the pre-match press conference at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here, everyone in the room, including the India batter, knew what would be fired at him. As expected it was on Abhishek Sharma. Such an integral part of the T20 set up, he has turned out to be even a stomach infection that landed him to hospital was enough to send the jitters in dressing room. The hard-hitting opener has been pivotal in India's massive turnaround and his absence has turned into a serious question.
The net session too seemed like spot-Sharma contest. Visibility was much better with the smog of the mid-winter lifting considerably. Though the AQI remained 'unhealthy', for anyone who played in peak 'hazardous' conditions, this could more acceptable.
There was a mist of uncertainty over India though. The explosive opening batter had not taken the field after India's innings against USA in Mumbai. He did not turn up for the training on Tuesday. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said that he still had a stomach infection and might take a few more days. More than the clash against Namibia on Thursday, the focus is on the Pakistan match in Colombo on Sunday. Sharma had been hospitalised in the capital city for a couple of days with dehydration.
Cruel hands of injury have started rocking India's boat. In the last few days, India had already replaced Harshit Rana, who suffered a knee injury, with Mohammed Siraj. Jasprit Bumrah hadn’t bowled a ball since the fifth T20I against New Zealand until Tuesday. Amidst all this, Sharma’s illness meant India’s start to the T20 World Cup campaign had been far from ideal. Even more so, considering they are set to take the field against Pakistan in Colombo on February 15.
If Sharma's infection was not enough, Kishan got hit in the toe by a Bumrah yorker on Wednesday. The opener was visibly in pain as he walked out of the net but resumed shortly and went on to train for more than half hour in the nets.
So when Varma sat down, the first question was about Sharma. And he was quite clear, “When we reached Delhi, he went to the hospital for the examination. I think he has been discharged today, and he is doing well. We have got one more day for the game. Hopefully, we will decide by tomorrow how he feels. We will go with it.” Varma may not have ruled Sharma out of the Namibia contest, but it is all but confirmed that the opener will sit out. He did not turn up for training on Wednesday as well.
There were other indicators during the practice as well. Much like Tuesday, Kishan was the first to hit the nets and batting alongside him was Sanju Samson, who could replace Sharma. Samson was brought back as opener after Shubman Gill was dropped, and he played all five matches against Black Caps. His 46 runs could not guarantee a place in the playing XI.
It will be interesting to see if Samson, who was expected to warm the bench, gets to open with Kishan against Namibia on Thursday. He is not the only option. Washington Sundar joined the team on Tuesday, and the all-rounder trained on both days leading up to the contest. He also spent a fair amount of time batting on Wednesday. It may seem like an out-of-the-box option, but Washington could be seen as a stopgap arrangement to open with Kishan while Sharma recovers.
In the past, head coach Gautam Gambhir has pushed Washington up the order, but not in T20Is. In the shortest format, Washington has predominantly batted in the middle-order, but opening with him gives the option of an extra spinner without affecting the batting, especially against Namibia.
However, whether they would experiment, especially after the scare the USA gave, remains to be seen. Against the USA, India collapsed early and held back Axar Patel, pushing Rinku Singh above the all-rounder. Ten Doeschate had conceded that it was a judgment call made by the team management that did not work, and they would want to stick to the plan that had worked for them over the last two years. “We want guys to be adaptable and versatile, to be able to bat in different situations, different positions, but I think the lesson from the other night is that we stick with what we have done over the last 12 months,” the assistant coach had said.
Put it all together, after a dominating run over the last year, India have not gotten off to a smooth start in their pursuit of a title defence. They would want to pick up two points, and put it all behind by the time they land in Sri Lanka for the Pakistan clash on Friday.