The hype follows India more than any other cricket team and thus the burden of expectations. Nothing less than the T20 World Cup trophy is the fan expectation (and even the board, it seems) from the Men in Blue.
Why not? For the most consistent side across formats for over a decade, India’s last Senior ICC tournament win was in 2013. Since 2014, India’s win-loss ratio in Senior Men's ICC tournaments across formats stands at a mighty 2.8, comfortably the highest among all teams, but they have no trophy to boast of. They played three finals and as many semi-finals in the six tournaments since.
The topic of ICC trophies brings us to M.S. Dhoni, India’s last captain to have won one, and the only international captain to boast of the T20 World Cup, ODI World Cup, Champions Trophy and the ICC Test Mace in his illustrious cabinet. Dhoni has also led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to four Indian Premier League (IPL) titles and two Champions League T20 titles.
India’s seriousness about the lack of silverware prompted the BCCI to appoint Dhoni as the team’s mentor as captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri collaborate for one final time to summarise their prolific partnership by winning a global tournament.
Trivia: This will be India’s first ever outing in a T20 World Cup without Dhoni playing, let alone captaining. He remains the only Indian captain to have won the tournament.
India squad for the 2021 T20 World Cup
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), K.L. Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, R. Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami.
Travel reserves: Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Axar Patel
Head coach: Ravi Shastri
Mentor: M.S. Dhoni
T20 World Cup Editions Participated: All six editions since 2007
Best T20 World Cup results: Champions in 2007; runners-up in 2014
ICC T20I Ranking: 2
SWOT analysis
Strengths: From four pacers to win Tests overseas to five spinners in their extended squad in conditions suited to slow bowling, India have been bold enough to adopt a horses-for-courses method.
Having been immersed in Test cricket in 2021, it was essential to have T20-oriented fresh heads in team management.
The appointment of Dhoni, arguably the finest brain in white-ball cricket, is further testimony to India’s belief in that method.
As the host organisers of the tournament, India are aware of the conditions better than most, especially after playing the IPL on the same grounds. The month-long tournament have tired the surfaces, and thus India opted for a robust spin attack.
India’s bowling attack has variety: Ashwin is an off-spinner, Jadeja a left-arm orthodox, Rahul Chahar a leg-spinner and Chakravarthy, who adds to the mystery element, may go on to become their trump card.
While being very different bowlers, Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar are two of the finest white-ball pacers in this format, capable of championing the Powerplay and death overs. Bumrah was one of the best bowlers in the IPL, but Bhuvneshwar was not in the best of forms. However, with an economy rate of 5.85 in the Powerplay, he remains India's best bet with the new ball.
Shami is an improved pacer in the T20s and, along with Shardul, remains a good death-bowling and wicket-taking option.
India’s batting has come good in the warm-up games. To add the invaluable experience of Kohli and Rohit, Rahul’s current form forms India’s batting backbone. Despite taking a subdued approach for the sake of his IPL side, he still amassed 1,715 runs in T20 cricket since 2020 at 49, striking at over 133.
While many opponents are top-heavy in their line-up, India have better balance in the middle-order, with fearless batters like Suryakumar, Kishan, Pant, Pandya and Jadeja.
Trivia: Since 2020, Jadeja averages 56 in the death overs, striking at over 207.
Weakness: India will back Rohit and Rahul to continue the same approach from the warm-up game. If they cannot, the lack of power-hitting at the top is a worry for India. Rahul, Rohit and Kohli have all lately donned the anchor’s role. Since 2019, the trio have scored plenty of runs, all of them striking in the mid-130s.
India miss several in-form players in their squad, most notably Deepak Chahar and Yuzvendra Chahal. The former's ability to bowl in the Powerplay as well as bat down the order could have earned him a spot. Less than two years back, he registered 6-7 against Bangladesh, which remains the joint-best bowling figures in Men's T20Is.
Though Rahul Chahar has merited his place in the squad through consistent shows since 2019, his recent form has not been great, and he has not done well in the UAE. On the other hand, Chahal, whose form was under the scanner, found form in the second half of the IPL and boasts brilliant numbers in the UAE.
In UAE, since 2020:
- Chahal: 35 wickets @ 16.8 | Econ 6.8
- R Chahar: 17 wickets @ 32.3 | Econ 8.1
Hardik was the Player of the Series in India’s series win in Australia, and he played just as a batter. Since then, he has not been able to replicate his consistency with bat. Him not bowling will hamper India’s balance. The sixth bowler issue has hurt India in the past.
Also, is his form good enough to allow him to play as a specialist batter?
Opportunity: India have the most complete side on paper, and this is Kohli's best chance to finally bag an ICC trophy in his last assignment as the T20 skipper. In Shastri, Dhoni and Rohit, he also has the best brains to pick from, not to forget his experience as captain and the presence of Ashwin, Rahul and Pant, all of whom have been, or are, full-time IPL captains.
Washington Sundar’s absence has opened the door for Ashwin. Back in the international white-ball setup after more than four years, this is his opportunity to seize the moment and recraft his legacy as a complete all-format cricket.
With eight series wins until the Sri Lanka tour in July, India have the momentum favouring them. The 3-2 win against the top-ranked England in March has to be the biggest confidence booster. With all the squad members well acclimatised with the UAE conditions, this is India’s best chance.
Threats: The proverb goes – ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’. The influx of too many quality heads can be a boon, but if one of the ingredients is ego, it may well be recipe for disaster. The cohesion of Kohli, Rohit, Shastri and Dhoni hold the key here.
Having invested in Kuldeep Yadav and Chahal for many years, India’s complete shift from the wrist-spin-to-win strategy has been a bold move, but the new attack has not had enough opportunities together. Ashwin returns after four years, Jadeja has not played a T20I this year, and Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar hardly have international exposure.
Barring Shami and Thakur, who are not certainties in the XI, most other bowlers are more of containers than wicket-takers, unlike Kuldeep and Chahal. Against bigger teams like England or the West Indies, wicket-taking may be the only option to curb the run-flow.
Unlike England, Pakistan or the West Indies, India have focused primarily on Test cricket lately. Yes, the IPL remains the showpiece event, but the management has not invested enough time building a robust T20I unit.
Between Kishan, Chakravarthy, Suryakumar and Rahul Chahar, there is a combined experience of 15 T20Is. Bumrah’s last T20I was 19 months ago. Shami has played only 14 T20Is since 2014, and, as mentioned above, Ashwin makes a white-ball comeback for India after four years. Unlike most opponents, this Indian side has not played enough T20Is together as a unit.
For long India have treated T20Is as a compressed part of ODIs. The format has its own demands and challenges. India have a habit of being rigid, and they must be ready to improvise as per the match-ups.
A failure to win the trophy will open Pandora’s Box back home. The unrest over the issue of captaincy has been a big talking point in India. If the team does not return with the trophy, it can even spell the end of Kohli’s ODI captaincy.
India’s likely XI: K.L. Rahul, Rohit Sharma (vc), Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R. Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
India’s Fixtures:
- Sunday, 24 October: India vs Pakistan, Dubai
- Sunday, 31 October: India vs New Zealand, Dubai
- Wednesday, 3 November: India vs Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi
- Friday, 5 November: India vs Scotland, Dubai
- Monday, 8 October: India vs Namibia, Dubai