2020 begins for Team India with a T20I series vs Sri Lanka. The Men In Blue's main target is the World T20 this year and also the one next year.?
T20 is where India are struggling a tad bit and with a packed season ahead and just 9 1/2 months before the big tournament, a few areas need to be worked out on most urgently.?
So here are some things India really need to take care of if they want to succeed:
Shikhar Dhawan's low strike-rate in T20Is has been an issue for some time now and when he was out injured, India benefited in a strange way as KL Rahul took the spot and batted with refreshing fearlessness and variety. While Dhawan is a match-winner in the ODI format, he is not an automatic choice anymore in T20Is. In 2019, he has scored just 272 runs in 12 innings at an average of 22.66 and a strike rate of 110.56. The selectors need to start casting their net wider to look for a third opener. A closer look within the squad can help them find a player named Sanju Samson, who has been curiously underused.
India are in the process of traversing the same path as they did in the 50-over World Cup. All their big ammunition is stocked up at the front with little firepower to follow. The strategy unravelled spectacularly in the World Cup semifinal against New Zealand and the same could happen in Australia too. Rahul/Dhawan, Rohit, Kohli at one, two and three, looks spectacular, but India depend heavily either Kohli or Rohit batting for at least 15 overs to make a big score or chase it down. The middle-order of Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey and Rishabh Pant have not been tested enough and this is the right time to do that, even if it means losing a few games. Kohli sending in Shivam Dube at No. 3 at Thiruvananthapuram against West Indies ahead of him was a brave move and there is need for more trial and error approaches.
Do you need bowlers who can bat or bowlers who can take wickets? India separated the finger-spin twins of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the white-ball format because they were deemed ineffective by the team management after the Champions Trophy and played Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. The duo has played together in 10 T20 matches and have featured in eight wins. On bigger Australian grounds with steady breeze, they could be a massive factor. The skipper though is loathe to play them together and instead chooses to bank on the batting exploits of Washington Sundar to complement Ravindra Jadeja's all-round skills. But on flatter tracks, wrist-spinners can be game-breakers in T20s and the sooner Virat realises this, the better.
How much the team values Jasprit Bumrah was seen when BCCI President Sourav Ganguly intervened and stopped him from playing in the Ranji Trophy. His comeback after stress fracture of the back will be celebrated. But with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar injured, who will share the new-ball with Bumrah? Can Navdeep Saini be effective? He seems to struggle while bowling in the death overs. Left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed, once spoken of as a certainty even in the ODI World Cup, has been unfairly dumped. Shardul Thakur too has not set the world on fire yet. The 'sore'card among pacers is getting longer and India have nine months before the World T20 to set that right.
Rishabh Pant's talent is well known. Sadly, so is his impetuosity. The big-hitting wicket-keeper-batsman has been testing the patience of the team management and his fans with his injudicious strokeplay in white-ball cricket. The constant scrutiny seems to have affected his wicketkeeping and DRS judgement too, as he has grassed regulation chances and has either not asked for a review or asked for it when the batsman has been not out. Virat has publicly backed his Delhi teammate, but how long can he ignore the gulf between potential and performance?
Without Hardik Pandya, the team lacks a power-hitter in the middle-order. His absence though gives India a chance to groom someone for that role. If Shreyas Iyer takes up the No. 4 role, can Manish Pandey be trusted to give that finishing kick? Shivam Dube has shown glimpses of his talent but that was at No. 3. In a situation where the team needs to score at 15 runs an over, he is not yet tested. Basically, India need a Buttler-like batsman at No. 6 in Hardik's absence.