5 reasons for India’s continued failure at the T20 WC

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India have now lost 10-wicket defeats in two World Cups, 12 months apart. There are several reasons for this, and India need to address them soon if the team wishes to leave a mark the next time around. After the previous edition of the World Cup, the team has undergone a change in captaincy and coaching, but issues remain. Furthermore, India have now lost its 7^th ICC tournament in 9 years. Of the obvious changes that the team could have adopted, but failed to, is the inclusion of Yuzvendra Chahal, who is India’s best wrist-spinner. He has so far claimed 21 wickets from 19 games but has been repeatedly kept benched in favour of all-rounder R Ashwin in the last two editions of the World Cup, which has seen impressive performances from spinners such as Shadab Khan of Pakistan, and Adil Rashid of England. Playing Ashwin over Chahal in every match has been justified on the grounds of Ashwin being an all-rounder who can hits runs when needed, but the responsibility for run-scoring should rest on India’s top order instead.

India, who have previously been branded as ‘timid’ batters, underwent a change when Rohit Sharma assumed the captaincy. However, both Sharma and the team’s batting in the Powerplay remained unimpressive in the World Cup, with their highest score being 46-1 against South Africa. With teams scoring an average of 70-3 in the Powerplay, India’s unimpressive batting was no match with an opponent like England. The decision to play Dinesh Karthik over Rishabh Pant is also surprising given Pant’s great form and Karthik’s occasional slip-up. While Pant is less experienced than the 37-year-old Karthik in T20Is, he has proved himself in Test cricket and scored a century in an ODI in England earlier in the year. T20 is known to be a format where younger players shine – MS Dhoni’s World Cup winning team in 2007 was full of young faces – and Rishabh Pant must be given his chances.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/the-great-icc-choke-returns-five-blunders-that-cost-india-the-t20-world-cup-101668093340934.htmlPlaying KL Rahul as a top-order batter has also come at a cost. Rahul played his first T20I match in the Asia Cup in August, 8 months after the start of 2022. From November 2021 to August 2022, Rahul was absent from India’s T20I matches, but was granted the position of an opener on his return. He has also been in lukewarm form, having scored 4, 9 and 5 runs against Pakistan, South Africa and England and it has been suggested that Shubman Gill be given a chance. Finally, even though Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh have performed well,

India lacks a powerful pace bowler who can consistently bowl at speeds of 145 km/hr at a pitch like the Adelaide Oval. After the injury sustained by Bumrah, India had no option but to play Shami, who was playing his first T20I since November 2021. It is time for India to now hone the skills of next generation fast bowlers such as Umran Malik.