T20 World Cup – India’s prospects

The T20 World Cup is back! After the IPL circus, we’re back with cricketers playing for their country, with patriotic emotions and passions riding high.

India are the defending champions and overwhelming favourites, boasting of (arguably) the best T20 line-up of them all. And with their vast experience after 2 editions of the IPL, the Indian squad is supposed to be the most ‘experienced’ in this format of the game.

However, many forget that before the inaugural T20 World Cup, India had never played a T20 international, there was no Indian domestic T20 tournament, and absolutely no experience of T20 cricket. So why should experience be a decisive factor now?

I don’t think experience is going to be all that important. Instead, the following 5 factors will be critical to India’s performance.

1. The Fatigue Factor and Injuries
Objective reasoning would suggest that most of the Indian players should be physically and especially mentally tired after a gruelling 5 weeks of IPL, which only followed 2 years of non-stop cricket. Fatigue is bound to creep in.

The squad already has 2 injured soldiers - Zaheer and Sehwag. Their exact fitness status is a secret. They might recover in time, but what if others get inured? We have to keep our fingers crossed for captain Dhoni, as shockingly the selectors have chosen not to pick a backup wicket keeper (opting for Ravindra Jadeja who will find it hard to get a game anyway).

It remains to be seen how the players conquer mental fatigue as well. But given that they are defending a world cup, I am certain they will be motivated through and through. MSD will ensure that!

2. Batting Line-up
Rohit Sharma has been the stand-out performer in the warm-up games, giving Dhoni a happy worry about the opening combination. Both Sehwag and Gambhir failed to live up to expectations in the IPL. Gambhir’s lack of timing is a worrying aspect, while Sehwag’s form is unknown. I’d suggest that Rohit Sharma be given an extension at the top; this might just be the tournament where he shows his potential as a future superstar.

Raina is my choice for #3, but Dhoni has taken that position in the warm-ups. In my mind, Raina and Yuvraj should come in ahead of Dhoni, who is an ideal finisher. Undoubtedly, India has the strongest top 6 of all. Will they deliver? We’ll know soon.

3. The Bowling
All those who believe that IPL was an indicator of performances at the World Cup should take a look at Ishant Sharma and RP Singh. Ishant was very ordinary in the IPL and has been the standout bowler in the warm-ups. RP Singh took the purple cap, but has been pathetic in the warm-ups. Praveen Kumar hasn’t been special either. With Zaheer’s injury, pace bowling is surely a serious weak link.

Harbhajan will walk into the side, and will be heavily relied upon. Pragyan Ojha outbowled him in the IPL. But in Dhoni’s scheme of things, he may not get into the 11.

4. The all-rounder quandary
A balanced attack for English conditions in June should almost certainly have 4 seamers, (perhaps 3 regular seamers and an all-rounder). Irfan Pathan is seamer-all-rounder. But his bowling is simply not good enough. Batsmen relish his bowling, and almost all his wickets come when batsmen go after him. He is just too big a risk, especially considering that bowling is our weak link.

Elder brother Yusuf is the spinner-all-rounder in contention. He is a proven hard-hitter, except a near inability against short-pitched bowling. He cannot command a place in the top 6, and we have plenty of part-time spinners who can pitch in with 2-3 overs.

All-in-all we have nothing to be proud of our all-rounder strength. This is where India falls behind South Africa (with Kallis and Morkel) and New Zealand (Oram and Styris).

5. Captain Cool - Dhoni
Over the last 2 years, Dhoni has emerged as a great motivator and leader. He has the ability to get the best out of his players, and the knack (or luck) of making the right moves at the right time. Never before has an Indian team been overwhelming favourites to win a World Cup. Dhoni's leadership is the biggest influence on this team. He will motivate his team to shake off all mental fatigue and give their best.

However, his fitness is of major concern. Behind the wickets, he is highly prone to finger injuries, especially when he stands up the stumps for Praveen Kumar or Irfan Pathan. Without a backup keeper India has taken a big risk, and we can only hope that Dhoni avoid injuries thru the tournament.

Speaking of his captaincy, he is also known to favour all-rounders. This came to the fore in the IPL as he persisted with a hugely disappointing Jacob Oram, despite having Makhaya Ntini on the bench and the Chennai Super Kings’ bowling being mauled in every game. If his affinity for all-rounders continues, the Pathan brothers might both get into the playing 11, at the expense of regular bowlers.

Time and again his out of the box moves have proved critics wrong. We have to just wait and watch. Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainities, and T20 can only bring in more unbelievable surprises.