Bharath Ramaraj in Dubai
Here’s an imaginary scenario – India need 14 off three deliveries in the Asia Cup final with Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav at the crease. You may counter that by saying that such a twist in the plot seems unlikely, considering how formidable India look on paper. But in the fast-paced world of T20 cricket, there is still an element of unpredictability.
The Indian management, for one, seem to be considering the different possibilities. On a humid Thursday night, almost all of India’s lower-order batters practiced range hitting in the nets – from Varun to Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. Among the lot, Harshit has enough potential to land meaty blows. Although he hasn’t yet translated that promise into runs in the abridged versions of the game, Harshit does have a strike-rate of more than 80 in first-class games.
At the ICC Academy, one could get a glimpse of Harshit’s power-hitting ability as a couple of the blows thudded into the players’ dressing room at the academy. One of the shots perhaps flew past the building. More importantly, he was looking to crack those strokes straight back over the bowler’s head. Especially in the spin-friendly climes of the UAE, it makes sense to target the straighter boundaries.
With the Indian think-tank always aiming to balance the side by picking a hitter down the order, Harshit might have a chance to secure a place in the playing XI in their inconsequential game against Oman. Varun, too, attempted a few shots in the ‘V’. Obviously, he doesn’t have the range-hitting prowess of Harshit. But it was pleasing to see that Varun has worked on both his fitness and batting.
Meanwhile, there is the curious case of Arshdeep. The left-arm pace bowler, who is just one short of 100 T20I scalps, is still India’s highest wicket-taker in the shortest format. However, with India pinning their hopes on a spin-heavy attack, and once more selecting an extra all-rounder for his batting ability, he has had to sit. But Arshdeep did wield his willow on Thursday.
Even on the eve of the game against the UAE, there was a long net where the left-hand batter clubbed enough shots over the on side. But he seems to struggle while facing deliveries that are fuller and wide of off stump. Maybe, just maybe, India would give both Arshdeep and Harshit opportunities, while resting Jasprit Bumrah and a spinner.
Last but not least, what about Jitesh Sharma? In the net sessions, Jitesh has been in fine touch. The thwack of leather when it meets the willow tells a story in itself. On Thursday evening, Jitesh also took up wicketkeeping duties. Is that a sign of him securing a berth in the XI versus Oman? Perhaps not, as Sanju Samson hasn’t batted in the tournament so far. And he would like to have a hit in the middle.
Overall, it was a jovial session with fielders pouching high catches as well as the low ones. In front of a net, Rinku Singh was seen diving around in order to grab difficult chances. And T Dilip, the fielding coach, did share his insights when Rinku made mistakes. After Rinku fluffed an easy chance, he even said ‘sorry’ to the coach. All of it on a light-hearted note. With India having already qualified for the next round, the players certainly looked chilled out.
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