Does the Indian T20 cricket team need a shuffle?

India have yet again failed to end their campaign successfully at the T20 World Cup, though the reasons are arguably difficult to pin down. With Virat Kohli,whowas experiencing a slump in form, regaining his supremacy on the pitch, Suryakumar Yadav being at his best, and K.L. Rahul also recovering from a loss in form, having scored two half-centuries before the final, India’s batting order have looked in good shape. The same cannot be said for India’s bowlers, who had failed to give the team a conclusive advantage in any match at the World Cup. Nevertheless, India’s 10-wicket defeat at the hands of England is unprecedented and requires reckoning, and the warning bells may have been ringing for a while.

 In India’s match against South Africa, the batters failed to make a mark, and India’s overs concluded with a total of 133 runs for nine wickets, with the low run rate of seven runs per over. However, the bowlers struggled to fish the team out of the spot, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar claiming no wickets, Arshdeep Singh claiming two, and Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya and R. Ashwin claiming one each. Incidentally, the only team that India could bowl out in the tournament was Zimbabwe. Furthermore, none of India’s bowlers stood out during the tournament, with Shami bowling fast occasionally, Pandya failing to make an impressive mark, and Ashwin giving away 43 runs in 4 overs against South Africa and, 27 runs in two overs against England. It thus becomes clear in hindsight that India’s batters have had a disproportionate amount of pressure to perform.

 Veterans have also expressed concern at India’s bowling, with Wasim Akram stating that India’s young pace bowlers have been unable to conserve their IPL delivery pace at international tournaments, and Shoaib Akhtar commenting about how India lacks an elite pace bowler, as opposed to all-rounders. Harsha Bhogle has also observed how India has been over relying on high-scoring batters, while being reluctant to lose wickets, and consequently losing run opportunities in the power play. Given India’s performance at the T20 World Cup, and the nature of its exit to England, some wide-ranging changes to the team may be on the cards