By picking Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for T20 World Cup, selectors take a huge leap of faith

How it came to this is another fascinating story. Having spent a good part of 12 months building a team in tune with the demands of T20 cricket for the World Cup, it was in January that India took a U-turn. By bringing back Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the T20Is against Afghanistan – the last international series before the T20 World Cup – it was evident which way India were heading. Two out of India’s top three in the batting line-up, considered a problematic area in past editions, are on the flight to the US and Caribbean as well. Word is that if the team management had its way, there was a strong chance that Rahul too would have found a seat.

Plan, U-turn

But here we are, with two elephants in the room. In essence, India are hoping to end their ICC title drought by pinning their hopes on more or less a similar blueprint that didn’t yield them success in the UAE and Australia. It is the reason the selectors tried the likes of Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rishabh Pant as openers. In the middle-order, where they didn’t have firepower in their ranks, they chose to invest in Tilak Verma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube with Suryakumar Yadav being the bridge between top and middle orders. A 360-degree player sandwiched between power-packed openers and the firepower of middle-order. After 17 seasons of the IPL, it seemed as if India were finally close to cracking the T20 formula.

It wasn’t just picking these players. In 2023, despite all their attention firmly on the 50-over World Cup at home, plenty of planning went behind the scenes for the T20 World Cup as well. They studied the success formula of top T20 teams across the globe, prompting them to invest in as many left-handers as possible in the batting line-up because modern-day bowlers (pacers and spinners) struggle against southpaws. Between August to November, for the T20Is against Ireland and Australia and at the Asian Games, India’s top seven had at least five left-handed batsmen.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are among the top picks in India’s 15-member T20 World Cup squad. (Reuters)

With just two right-handed batsmen sandwiched between them, the selectors’ assertion was accurate as opposition bowlers struggled to keep the Indian batting quiet. With teams mostly relying on left-arm spinners and leg-spinners, left-handers offered favourable match-ups. Een when pacers operated – with the majority being right-arm — a left-handed batsman had a better reach and opened up different angles to score. But in the current side, there are five left-handed batsmen and given the team balances, there is a possibility of just two making the XI, with just one in the top four. Shockingly, Rinku Singh, who aced in his role as a finisher, doesn’t even find a spot in the 15, four months after being the talk of the town.

Throughout those 12 months, India showed the maturity to not mix formats. They went with players who fitted seamlessly into the format – Kishan, Jaiswal, Rinku, Verma, Jitesh, Axar. But their run to the final in the 50-over World Cup, which saw a different Rohit at the top and a run-hungry Kohli in at No. 3 successfully convinced the power centres at the BCCI to go back to the two. By mid-March, it was confirmed that Rohit would captain the team at the T20 World Cup.

While concerns around Hardik Pandya – who had led the T20 team since the last T20 World Cup – prompted the decision, one cannot ignore  that India still had time to look at Suryakumar and Jasprit Bumrah. Now, they head to the World Cup with a captain who hasn’t tallied even 400 runs in the last four seasons. He has 311 runs in 9 matches this season, but it also includes an unbeaten 105, which showed his limitations as a T20 batsman. Of course, Rohit has improved his biggest weakness in the format – the strike-rate. Having batted with a strike-rate of 120.18 to 132.80 in the last five seasons, it has shot to 160.31 this IPL. But the command he showed in the World Cup last year has been missing.

Similarly, with 500 runs to his name already this IPL, there are no concerns about Kohli’s form. Like Rohit, his strike-rate has been the biggest issue in T20s. For a player who has featured in all editions of the IPL, his strike-rate of 147.49 this season is his best ever. They do so, playing different roles in two entirely different teams, where they have other flamboyant batsmen around them.

Leap of faith

With India, they will make the top three. In a worst-case scenario, their top two. It is a huge leap of faith that India’s selectors and the team management have taken. They know very well that opposition teams will not be sweating over the sight of Rohit and Kohli in the powerplay. If they end up lasting beyond the powerplay overs, they won’t offer favourable match-ups against spinners. In the middle overs, bowlers would prefer bowling to them rather than Suryakumar, Samson or Dube.

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At the IPL, both Rohit and Kohli have shown the intent that is needed in T20s. It hasn’t looked entirely convincing, but it can’t be brushed aside too. But amidst all of this, there is one question that remains unanswered. Did Rohit and Kohli earn their spots for the T20 World Cup?

June will throw answers to that question.

India T20 World Cup squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Hardik Pandya (Vice Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.