CHENNAI: The ODI World Cup is not too far away and a series loss to one of the biggest rivals, Australia, at home isn’t ideal preparation. While there were a few positives in the form of Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya bowling really well in the third ODI and KL Rahul coming good with the bat in the first game, the negatives far outweigh the bright spots.
Rohit Sharma, following the loss at Chepauk, was quite frank in his assessment about what needs to be done going ahead if India are to win the World Cup.
TOI breaks down the issues…
Struggling to adapt
Though the World Cup will be played in India, the hosts will have nine games in nine different venues. It will mean a lot of travelling and different conditions, something Rohit’s boys struggled with in the Australia series. While the moving ball had them in trouble in Mumbai, spinners Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa made life difficult for Virat and Co. at Chepauk.
“If we play on pitches which will turn, it will be about understanding ways to score runs because at the end of the day it is about putting bowlers under pressure. It is the same with seam and swing, you can’t let a bowler bowl at one particular spot,” Rohit said.
The skipper feels the important thing is to understand the role each player needs to play. “On challenging pitches, someone needs to bat out of his skin and stitch partnerships. These conditions are not alien to us but it is about understanding what the situation is and being fearless,” the skipper added.
More variation in spin attack?
India went in with two left-arm finger spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel in the last two ODIs, in addition to the wrist spin of Kuldeep. While coach Rahul Dravid has left enough indication that Kuldeep is his preferred choice as the wrist-spinner, one may feel India can use the option of an off-spinner instead of two left-arm finger-spinners.
Rohit, though, says that Axar has been preferred because of his ability with the bat. “Axar was in good form in the Test series and even though he got less chances to bowl, he was batting really well. I always believe in creating more depth in the batting. Having said that, (offie) Washington Sundar too can bat well,” Rohit said. “Looking at their line-up stacked with right-handers, I felt it was a good idea to have spinners take the ball away from the batters,” the skipper said.
The observation made by the cricket captain of the national team is an indirect recognition of the fact that India now faces a club vs country problem. The BCCI should take note of the points made by Rohit and try to improve the situation for Team India. How can players deliver their best in a five-day Test match final in England just 10 days after 8 weeks of gruelling T20 IPL in India? India last won a World Cup in 2011.
Sudden dip in Surya’s form
Three golden ducks were not expected from the best T20 batter in the world, Suryakumar Yadav. But Rohit didn’t want to read too much into it, saying he got two good balls while in Chennai, it was probably a moment’s indiscretion to go back against a spinner in the first ball that he played.
“But he plays spin so well and will figure it out on his own. This is just a phase,” the skipper said. Even the decision to demote Surya down the order on Wednesday wasn’t about trying to shield him against the moving ball. “As it is, the ball wasn’t moving after 10 overs. We just wanted to use his quality in the last 15 overs,” Rohit said.
No end-overs charge from batters?
The Indian team has shown a shift of approach in which they look to maintain a high tempo through the innings instead of keeping wickets for a late assault. It cost them the series against Australia as one felt the likes of Kohli, Hardik or Jadeja could have stretched the game deeper before going for the kill.
“We didn’t want to keep it to the last over. Someone had to take a chance. We have given players the freedom to go for their shots. There will be days someone will fail, but we won’t judge him by that,” Rohit said.
Guideline to IPL franchises
India have been ravaged by injuries with first XI players like Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer missing out. While Rohit says nothing can be done with “freak injuries”, it is important to manage the workload. “We have given guidelines to the franchises about workload management but I am not sure how much of it will be followed. At the end of the day, it is on the player himself and if he feels he needs a break, he should talk about it,” Rohit said.
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Cricket News Click Here
