UNCERTAINTIES, CHALLENGES PLAGUE INDIA'S T20 SETUP

Throughout the World Cup, there have been chinks in the armour India have been trying to cover up.

Melbourne: The slow starts, for example, were offset by a heavy dependency on Suryakumar Yadav to provide late momentum. India were also adamant about playing two finger spinners come what may. The fact that they made the semifinals was a bit fortuitous: if not for Virat Kohli’s two sixes against Haris Rauf in the 19th over in the Pakistan game and the timely rain break against Bangladesh, India’s World Cup campaign could have been a bleaker story. All these chinks led to the remarkable unravelling in the semifinal against England. TOI takes a look at the issues...

Are seniors like Rohit, Kohli, Bhuvneshwar and Ashwin now misfits in the T20 team?

In short, does the team need a completely new look a la 2007, the last time they won the T20 World Cup? The captain’s struggles with the bat were on plain view. He tried his best to hit his way out of trouble in the Powerplays but was not successful in these conditions.

Kohli may feel hard done by if he is included in this group: he is the world’s top batter in terms of averages in T20Is since Jan 1, 2021 (average 60, SR 136.70), a notch above Mohammad Rizwan. Given his consistency, Kohli is the glue that holds India together. But do India need more proactive batters against spin among the top three? As for Bhuvneshwar, maybe it’s time to look past him.

Coach Rahul Dravid’s take: “These guys have been terrific performers for us. It’s absolutely not the right time to talk about this stuff. We’ll have enough matches, enough games as we go ahead and India will try and prepare for the next World Cup.”

Why was the team management adamant on playing Axar Patel?