India, this World Cup and another harsh reality check. Shubman Gill missed the first two games because of dengue. Now, Hardik Pandya is out of the New Zealand match on Sunday with an ankle injury.
It’s not known for how long he is out. It’s unclear how the team management plans to address the absence of the all-rounder, who was expected to be a trump card. India do not have a replacement for someone capable of bowling seven or eight overs, or even a full spell, at 140 kmph, and hitting the ball clean and far at a strike-rate in the region of 140. So instead of ruing how useful he could have been in the cool climes of Dharamsala, it’s time to be practical.
What is Plan B? Pandya has to be replaced with a batter. There is no pace-bowling all-rounder in the reserves, or in the country. This blank cannot be filled with Ravichandran Ashwin. They do not provide the same service. The best option seems to be Suryakumar Yadav or Ishan Kishan. India need an imposing figure with the bat at No. 6 or 7 to cut loose in the late overs. If this means doing away with the cushion of a sixth bowler, so be it.
This is not the time to say that Ashwin and Shardul Thakur are sometimes included in the XI because of their batting and, hence, both can be considered all-rounders. In ODIs, they are bowlers who bat better than most of the others. Pandya is more of a batter, who is more than useful with the ball. He’s a special player for India and thoughts of a like-for-like replacement must be aborted because there isn’t one.
Since it’s Pandya’s batting that India will miss more, his replacement should also be a batter. A sixth bowler cannot be accommodated in this formula. But India don’t have a choice. If they do not take that batter, it has to be a bowler who will go in at No. 7. This means six players to make a difference with the willow and that would be insufficient. If three or four bowlers take wickets, the team can still manage with five.
This brings us to the next question. Should Thakur be one of the bowlers if India go in with five? No sixth bowler means additional responsibility on the quintet. If one of them has a bad day on pitches helpful for batting, the whole team will suffer.
With two wickets from 17 overs across three matches and an economy rate of 6.00, Thakur has been the weak link of this attack so far. In his first two outings, he got eight overs. The captain gave him a longish run only after Pandya’s injury.
Will Rohit Sharma have faith in his Mumbai mate bowling 10 overs?
Thakur as one of the six bowlers and as one of five, these two are different propositions. India must be at their best in this department for as long as Pandya is not around. For that, Thakur has to make way for either Ashwin or Mohammed Shami. If three seamers are needed, go to Shami. If the pitch demands, have the off-spinner.
Do whatever you have to, but fill the vacuum felt more acutely in batting with what is required. This decision will force the team out of its comfort zone by taking away the sixth bowler, which it so carefully nurtured. But then, a key member of the first XI being injured means they are already out of that comfort zone. It’s time to sacrifice a strength, and revive the suddenly weakened area.