Issues plaguing the Indian Cricket Team ahead of Asia Cup 2022
Rohit Sharma & company have issues to resolve over the next few weeks if they are to retain their Asia Cup title.
On paper, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian side enter the Asia Cup 2022 as overwhelming favourites. No other participant in the six-team T20I competition boast of the allround quality and depth that the defending champions possess.
India have been playing an attacking brand of T20I cricket since Rohit has taken over the captaincy. Soaking lessons in the aftermath of their disastrous Super 12 exit at the T20 World Cup in UAE last winter, India have won 19 of their previous 24 matches in the shortest format, while striking at 9.24 runs an over.
Shaped through the eyes of the well-versed Rahul Dravid as head coach, India have brought about a greater sense of role clarity and consistency about their gameplay in T20Is and look set to flex their muscles for the Asia Cup title before re-entering the T20 World Cup bout in Australia.
But there is always room for improvement and India do have certain chinks in their armoury, which the team management would love to resolve in the coming weeks facing the best of their Asian rivals in Dubai. These are flaws that could hold the aces back for Rohit & company and hurt them come the tour Down Under if not immediately resolved.
Will we witness the best of KL Rahul?
Untimely injuries have meant KL Rahul has not played a single T20I for India this year. But his previous 11 matches from the start of 2021 give account of a player who is not doing justice to his potential.
The elegant right-hander averages 28.90 at a strike-rate of only 130.76 in these matches. Rahul is a vastly superior player than that. He has an overall career strike-rate of 142.49 with an average of 40.68 in T20Is for India.
Having just comeback, Rahul's challenge will be to not just shrug off the dust and immediately refind rhythm at the crease, but to also finally unlock the beast inside him and reinforce his status as India's No.1 opener alongside Rohit.
Virat Kohli's spin game is in the mud
Virat Kohli bats No.3 for India in T20Is, which makes it ill-affordable for him to get stuck at the crease against spin. To India's misery, that is all Kohli has been doing against spin since the start of the pandemic.
From the beginning of 2020, he has a strike-rate of only 103.57 versus the tweakers. The corresponding number for the IPL stands at 105.22 over 52 innings.
Plagued with the limitations of a bottom-handed technique, Kohli has seen spinners dictating terms to him, which makes it simply unsustainable for India to retain him at the spot one-down in the batting order unless something drastically changes about his returns.
Also Read - It’s time to switch Virat Kohli to No.5 in T20Is
When will Rishabh Pant arrive in T20Is?
Arguably the best Test wicketkeeper-batter in the world right now and also a rising middle-order star in ODIs, Rishabh Pant has been a longstanding failure in T20Is for India. After 48 innings, the explosive left-hander has a career strike-rate of 126.32 and average of 23.86 for the country.
Those are numbers belying Pant's ability, for his IPL record - avg 32.19; SR 145.34 - speaks of an impactful aggressor with the bat in hand, someone who can destroy opposition attacks at his best for Delhi Capitals (DC). When is Pant finally destroying attacks for India, too?
India's backup fast-bowling up for stern test
In absence of injured Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, Indian selectors were expected to put in extra men at the job to bolster their fast-bowling group for the Asia Cup. But with the World Cup in mind, the decision-makers have narrowed the list down to only three specialist pacers for the tournament, with a reserve quick picked in Deepak Chahar.
The experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar leads the pack where he has only Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan for company. Given the comeback of allrounder Hardik Pandya, India are likely to walk into the Asia Cup with two spinners and two quicks, which leaves Khan and Arshdeep to bag the one spot.
While Arshdeep has shined in his limited opportunities, Khan has struggled to retain any control over the batters. Both of them are yet to cement their places, a scenario that makes for exciting but also critical few weeks for India's backup fast-bowling.
Since India have taken a plunge on the two pacers and not gone back to Mohammad Shami and Shardul Thakur, the onus is on them to live upto that trust with strong performances.
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