Less than two months for the World Cup at home, Team India spots an unsettled unit, still experimenting and searching for the perfect eleven. There are glaring cracks, pressing concerns and deeper dilemmas. The middle-order is uncertain as well as unstable, the bowling combination is vague, there is a fleet of important players expected to return from rehabs, but then there are a few youngsters who have shone in the absence of stalwarts. Would they challenge the established ones or would they make way for them?
The jigsaw puzzle that is the Indian squad is getting complex with each passing day. In a press conference here, India captain Rohit Sharma made a patient and frank admission about all that is worrying his team before the mega event. “We want to win but at the same time there are a lot of questions for which we need answers,” he said.
So much so that he kept reiterating the line that “no one’s spot in the team is sealed yet and everyone has to fight for slots” throughout the interaction. “We have got a lot of names there. We will see what is right combination for us to go in the World Cup but before we have the Asia Cup,” he said.
That is, India would get a clarity of their squad just three weeks before the World Cup. In an ideal scenario, this is the time when good teams look to polish their tactics and combinations, rather than frantically search for solutions to long-standing issues. Like the No 4 problem. Since the loss of form of Yuvraj Singh, no one has nailed that spot, despite the mass audition programme that has lasted for nearly a decade. From Ajinkya Rahane and Kedar Jadhav to KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer and now Suryakumar Yadav, several were furnished a chance
There is no escaping from reality, Sharma stated. “Look, No 4 has been an issue for us for a long time. After Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh), nobody has come and settled themselves in the role,” he said.
Some of them simply did look the part, too one-dimensional for the role. Some of them got injured at the wrong time. Like Rahul and Iyer. The latter averages 42 at five and four with a strike rate of 96. Rahul boasts an exceptional record, batting at 4, 5 and 6—an average of 49.70 and strike rate of 94. But both have been nursing injuries. Sharma cursed his luck. “For a long period of time, Shreyas (Iyer) has actually batted at No 4 and he has done well — his numbers are really good. Unfortunately, injuries have given him a bit of trouble; he has been out for a while and that is honestly what has happened in the last 4-5 years.”
