“I don’t want to go into details on this,” Rohit Sharma had said at the post-selection press conference after the 15-member Indian squad was picked for the T20 World Cup. “I definitely wanted four spinners. We have played a lot of cricket there. The match starts at 10 am in the morning. There’s a technical aspect involved in this.”
A four-pronged spin attack was picked ostensibly with an eye to the business end of the tournament, when India will play their matches in the Caribbean. To start with, however, India will need their pacers to be in top fettle, and a four-pronged pace attack, including all-rounder Hardik Pandya, in their tournament opener against Ireland isn’t ruled out.
The Nassau County International Cricket Stadium pitches in New York have their biological parent in Adelaide, Australia. And so far, the surfaces have assisted the seamers. It was the case when India played a warm-up fixture against Bangladesh on June 1. In the tournament proper also, South Africa’s Anrich Nortje ran through Sri Lanka’s batting, claiming 4-7 and helping the Proteas bundle out their opponents for 77.
By the look of it, the IPL-style 200-plus totals would be a rarity at this T20 World Cup and as Rahul Dravid told reporters: “Maybe, a score of 140-150 would be good at this venue.”
Less-than-placid conditions bring lesser teams into the game, and Ireland are no mugs in this format. But more on that later.
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As for India and their team combination, both Dravid and Rohit have held their cards close to their chests. But Yashasvi Jaiswal didn’t play the warm-up game and there’s a possibility of Virat Kohli partnering his skipper at the top. Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya could come in at No. 3, 4 and 5 respectively.
As regards to bowling, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj could be the three frontline seamers, with Pandya as the back-up. Kuldeep Yadav is expected to play as the first-choice spinner. Then, it is likely to be between Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal. Axar’s inclusion will provide batting depth, but he is a defensive spinner. Chahal, on the other hand, is an out-and-out wicket-taking option.
Rohit, though, refused to reveal anything. “There’s a square of four pitches. We don’t know which of them would be used for our game,” he said at the pre-match press conference. “In such a pitch, bowling is as important as batting. We have spinners, batsmen, (fast) bowlers; whatever combination we need, we have those kinds of players.”
Coming to Ireland, they defeated Pakistan in a T20I last month. If there’s movement in the air and off the deck, they will rely on Josh Little to bring the ball back into the right-handers and make early inroads. Pressure can do strange things, and Ireland would like to put India under pressure.
Meanwhile, Rohit said he tried to convince Dravid to continue as head coach, but wasn’t successful. “I tried convincing him to stay,” the India captain told reporters. “But obviously, there are a lot of things that he needs to look after as well. But yeah, I have personally enjoyed my time with him and I’m sure the rest of the guys will say the same.”
An ICC trophy for the outgoing coach would be a perfect parting gift.
Also Read: Spin or pace, the conundrum for Team India in T20 World Cup opener