Even after having the most complete and fulfilling teams in all of the cricketing nations, the problems for Team India winning a trophy don’t seem to fade away. One of the central problems for the men in blues was winning a tournament post-2011. With last year, having inarguably the best side in the World Cup and still losing, the pressure is sky-high for this year’s T20 World Cup.
Let us have an overall outlook on the challenges and the entire spectrum of what will happen and what is there for the men in blues.
The T20 World Cup and its Fixture: Looking back at the previous World Cups
India in 2024’s World Cup will be much anticipated, with America being a country abundant in Indians, and the crowd will almost feel like their home crowds. Not to mention having an India vs Pakistan, it will be a blockbuster. Apart from the Pakistan game, the other two games should be an obvious win for the men in blue, and they should proceed onto the stage.
First Game: Wed, 5 June 2024 – INDIA v IRELAND, New York
2nd Game: Sun, 9 June 2024 – INDIA v PAKISTAN, New York
3rd Game: Sat, 15 June 2024 – INDIA v CANADA, Florida
The men in blues seemed to be quite un-convincing in their last 4 T20 World Cups, where they were Semi-finalists in the last one, losing against Champions England, and another one where they were semi-finalists in the World Cup as hosts losing against West Indies, the eventual champions.
The Coming Tours before the World Cup: Home and Away Series
Before the World Cup in June, there aren’t many series or tournaments for Team India to inspect the players meticulously.
Team India has scheduled a T20 Series on their home soil against Afghanistan starting from 11th January, which will be played under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav. Apart from that, no series is scheduled for Team India. This certainly may be a concern in terms of finding the right mix of players. With the IPL season coming up in March and the Syed Mushtaq Ali 2023/2024 season, India will most likely have these two tournaments and the Bilateral series against Afghanistan to find the perfect possible combination.
Also, finding teams to compete against will also be difficult since there will be ongoing T20 franchise leagues like the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League), PSL (Pakistan Super League), The Big Bash in Australia (Currently going), and many other esteemed tournaments, including the IPL where international players will keep themselves busy.
Looking at the current Squad: Player’s form and the Support Staff
The current squad seems to have the right mix of players with veterans, stalwarts, and young guns. Things are looking positive at the moment as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have both made themselves for the Afghanistan series. The team now looks formidable to compete along with players Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Arshdeep, Rinku, and a couple of others who are looking to slot their names permanently onto the side.
With Hardik Pandya uncertain with the IPL and the World Cup ahead of his ankle injury, which he incurred playing against Bangladesh in the WC, the situation is concerning given the unique role he stands.
Apart from that, the team looks solid with Suryakumar Yadav recovering from injury after having an explosive series with the bat against South Africa; Jaiswal and Subhman are fighting for that place in the opening slot with Rohit as both of them are in emphatic form, along with players like Bumrah, Siraj, and Jadeja being regular performers.
Rahul Dravid and Co. certainly have plenty of tasks in their hands because of all the talent that have that comes with all the issues.
The Captaincy Issue
With the team dispute happened in the IPL pre-auction period, when the Mumbai Indians triggered the release clause of Hardik Pandya from Gujarat Titans and got him back, making him the captain of the Mumbai Indians. It was somewhat of a sacking to Rohit Sharma as the side’s previous proven captain. This led to a media and fan eruption since Rohit is the T20i captain of Team India, it is natural and necessary for Mumbai Indians to see him as the better captain and an obvious choice for the Team India side. But, as things stand, since Hardik Pandya is injured and will likely miss the tournament, it seems like the obvious choice for captaincy is yet again Rohit Sharma. Given the controversy, he may opt out of the role, and Surya could be given it.
If Rohit decides to not captain the men in blues, then Hardik could fill the shoes or even KL Rahul or Surya Kumar Yadav may step up.
Emerging players and rotating the squad
The IPL will pay impeccable significance in the final squad selection ahead of the T20 World Cup, and all the players, especially the emerging ones, will look to have their best tournament ever to get selected. Apart from that, opening quota, team India will look for middle-order batters, spin and pace bowling all-rounders, and pacers as backup. Here are some young players along with a few who will potentially perform to watch out in each team.
RCB: Rajat Patidar (Batter)
CSK: Ruturaj Gaikwad (Batter), Shivam Dube (All-rounder), Tushar Deshpande (Pacer)
MI: Tilak Varma (Batter), Ishan Kishan (WK-Batter), Akash Madhwal (Pacer)
KKR: Nitish Rana (Batter), Rinku Singh (Batter), Venkatesh Iyer (All-rounder), Venkatesh Iyer (Spinner)
LSG: Venkatesh Iyer (Batter), Shivam Mavi (Pacer), Ravi Bishnoi (Spinner)
GT: Shubhman Gill (Batter), B. Sai Sudharsan (All-Rounder)
PK: Rahul Chahar (Spinner), Arshdeep Singh (Pacer)
SRH: Rahul Tripathi (Batter). Mayank Agarwal (Batter), Washington Sundar (All-Rounder), T Natarajan (Pacer), Umran Malik (Pacer), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Pacer)
Meeting the fans’ expectations
With Michael Vaughan labeling India as “one of the most underachieving sports teams in the world” and saying that India doesn’t win anything, there has been an uproar from the fans and the media, and we are pretty sure that Team India must’ve heard that considering the team actually hasn’t won anything since 2011. So, there will surely be many expectations to cover up in the coming T20 World Cup, and they won’t be met until the tournament is won.
The Overall Scenario
In the forthcoming T20 World Cup, Team India will confront many problems and possibilities. The excitement is palpable, particularly for the India-Pakistan match in the Indian-abundant United States.
The need for strategic preparation in the absence of considerable T20is, the captaincy quandary caused by IPL issues, and doubts around important players’ form and fitness, particularly Hardik Pandya, are all challenges.
The home T20 series against Afghanistan, as well as the IPL and bilateral series, will be critical in determining the proper team balance and recognizing rising talent. Candidates for captaincy include Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and KL Rahul.
The IPL is an essential platform for young players to secure T20 World Cup selections. Rajat Patidar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Paddikal, Varun Chakaravarthy, and a few others will be inspected carefully.
Meeting fan expectations and responding to criticism, particularly from personalities such as Michael Vaughan, adds drive. The team’s hunt for a trophy since 2011 adds to the pressure, giving the T20 World Cup a critical opportunity for Team India to demonstrate their skill and make a statement in the global arena.
