India’s preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup could be considered satisfactory, as they travel to Australia on the back of two series wins against the Proteas and the hosts themselves. India will play two more warm-up games against Australian domestic sides prior to the commencement of the World Cup, while the ODI squad, led by veteran Shikhar Dhawan, will play three ODIs against South Africa.
The side is set to test out its bench strength during the series, with multiple members of the main side currently on the plane to Australia. The Proteas find themselves in a particularly undesirable situation, as their current position in the ODI Super League forecasts a potential threat to their direct qualification for next year’s ODI World Cup. Head coach Mark Boucher had suggested prior to the T20I series that he viewed the entire set of about 20 players as one unit, rather than compartmentalising them into rigid squads for ODIs and T20Is respectively.
South Africa will be reasonably happy with their performance across departments, as their units fired at least once in the series. Boucher’s side will, however, be hoping that all units can fire simultaneously at the marquee event, which begins on October 16. The legendary former wicketkeeper suggested that he would focus on squad rotation as well, as the World Cup looms large.
Indi will be reasonably satisfied with their performance in both home series. However, the bowling remains a concern, with their troubles being further compounded by the unavailability of attack leader Jasprit Bumrah, whose stress fracture has ruled him out of the tournament.
Additionally, India are without veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who suffered a freak injury while skiing. The absence of two of the team’s most important players is a major blow to the Indians, who haven’t yet announced who Bumrah’s replacement will be.
According to reports, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami is the frontrunner for the last and final spot. This was further corroborated by the press conferences of skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid, both of whom mentioned that the team management would select a fast bowler with prior experience of playing Down Under.
Dravid seems to have taken a typically calm mindset into the all-important tournament, which also happens to be his first since taking charge of the senior side. Dravid did acknowledge the role of luck in modern T20 cricket and added that there are quite a few positives for the Indian side in addition to the obvious negatives that came their way as a result of Jadeja and Bumrah’s injuries.
“It really went well for us, to be honest. Obviously, two good teams; Australia are the Twenty20 World Champion and South Africa is a team that we had never beaten in a home Twenty20 series. So to get a 2-1 finish in both the series are two good positive results for us.’’
the head coach said.
”All in all, we got what we needed from the two series against Australia and South Africa, there were some good performances, there were tight games. It was tough games for the bowlers from high scoring game, as it is always in India. But the boys can be happy with the fact that we got the right result.”
Meanwhile, the batting department offers a lot of positives for Rohit Sharma’s men, who are buoyed by the fantastic form of Suryakumar Yadav. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s return to form also augurs well for the team, as does Rahul’s attacking approach to the game. Dinesh Karthik also goes into the tournament as one of Sharma’s main men, as he dons the role of the finisher.
