India’s Best T20 International XI: A Statistical and Tactical Look

India had won the inaugural edition of the World T20 (now rechristened as the T20 World Cup) in 2007, but since then, they’ve had only 1 final and 1 semi-final appearance which came in 2014 and 2016 respectively. In the recent past, there has been a severe degree of criticism of the approach that India has adopted for this format, with one of the major ones being the fact that they approach the T20 game as an extension of the ODI game and thus pick a lot of players who may not be as successful in the T20 format as they would in ODIs. In this article, I would be trying to examine what should be India’s ideal T20 line-up through a statistical and tactical lens. I would be looking at the IPL records in the past 3 seasons (2018, 2019 and 2020) as well as their overall record in T20 Internationals, for those who are capped to determine the best possible XI.


Tactical Outlook for the XI: -

The best T20 XIs today, be it in the international arena or the franchise circuit, teams have always approached the T20 game by packing up their side with a mixture of batsmen who can anchor an innings effectively in a collapse, but are dynamic enough to change their gears of batting, and power-hitting batsmen, who can take on the bowling attack from the first ball they face, while also having at least 24-26 overs of bowling in the side so as to ensure that there’s enough bowling cover for an eventuality where one of the main bowlers of the team has been taken apart for runs by the opposition. So, this India XI will also be framed on the same premise. A few decisions, especially that of picking a specialist wicket-keeper in this team, will be based on the bowling fitness of Hardik Pandya, and for the relevance of this piece, I would be assuming that Hardik Pandya would be in peak bowling fitness.


Openers: -

Options: - Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Paddikal.

India, in recent times, has tried out a variety of openers in the T20 format, with a mixture of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan all tried out in different combinations and there’s been mixed results from each player/combination.

  • Shikhar Dhawan’s overall T20I record of 1669 runs in 62 innings (64 games), while perching him in the top-5 highest run-scorers of this format for India, have come at a less-than-impressive average of 28.28 and an equally disappointing strike-rate of 128.28. His IPL performances in 2018, 2019 and 2020, though were quite good (497 runs @ 38.2 @ 137.3-2018, 521 @ 34.7 @ 136.4-2019, 618 @ 44.1 @ 145.4-2020), and post-2018, his T20I performances have certainly picked up pace, he’s still prone to slowing down in the middle overs phase, which blunts the end-overs charge that the Indian team is looking for. But the advantage he has is his left-handedness, which automatically puts a bowler off his line.
  • Rohit Sharma’s struggled with injury issues in the recent couple of years and his IPL records in the last 3 seasons have also been a little iffy (286 runs @ 23.8 @ 133.6-2018, 405 runs @ 28.9 @ 129.0-2019, 332 runs in 12 innings @ 27.7 @ 127.7-2020), his overall T20I record is a testament to the ridiculously high standards he’s set (2773 runs in 100 innings @ 32.62 @ 138.78). One of the greatest abilities of Rohit’s T20 batting is the fact that he can accelerate at a rapid pace as he goes about his innings, especially towards the backend, where he shows the ability to be able to hit each delivery towards the boundary. This, coupled with his leadership nous in this format, boosted by the 5 IPL titles he’s led in for the Mumbai Indians, makes him an automatic pick for the opening batting slot.
  • KL Rahul in the shortest time spans, has become one of the world’s most dangerous and destructive T20 batsman, which actually stands in complete contrast to the fact that he was billed as a Test match specialist and that he didn’t make his T20I debut until 2016, but in recent times, he’s become a regular feature in the side, on the back of his uninhibited explosive batting, which is also reflected in his career T20I record (1542 runs in 41 innings @ 44.05 @ 144.92). His IPL records in the last 3 seasons also make for superb reading (659 runs @ 54.9 @ 158.8-2018, 593 @ 53.9 @ 135.7-2019 and 670 runs @ 55.8 @ 130.1-2020). The recent criticism that’s come in about Rahul’s approach in T20 cricket emerged from his previous two IPLs where his strike rate hung just over 130 and in many games, he was batting a touch too slowly, which really hampered his team Kings XI Punjab on too many occasions. But that can be also tempered with the fact that he had to shoulder the burden of an under-performing batting line-up for a greater part of the previous two years. Another advantage he would offer to this side is his wicket-keeping abilities, which opens the room for making this batting order a lot more flexible.
  • There are other options also available in this slot with Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill and now Devdutt Paddikal joining the fray. Of these, Mayank Agarwal and Devdutt Paddikal had a superb IPL 2020 (Mayank-423 runs in 11 innings @ 38.5 @ 156.7; Paddikal-473 runs in 15 innings @ 31.5 @ 125.1), but Paddikal has played just his first season of IPL and there, his inability to accelerate effectively against the spinners in the middle overs phase became apparent, while Mayank Agarwal has had an issue with not converting promising starts, be it in previous IPLs (IPL 2019-332 runs in 13 innings @ 25.5 @ 141.9, IPL 2018-120 runs in 11 innings @ 12 @ 127.7) or in the 5 ODIs he’s played for till date. Prithvi Shaw had an extremely poor IPL 2020 (228 runs in 13 innings @ 17.5 @ 136.5) and his issues with the moving ball have been further accentuated due to the lack of foot movement while Shubman Gill had a good IPL 2020 in terms of runs scored (440 runs in 14 innings @ 33.8) but his strike rate was a huge concern (118.3) and he too had issues with accelerating beyond the first 6 overs of the innings. Thus, keeping all the considerations in mind and looking at the data available, the best possible opening combination that India can use in T20 cricket is Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul (the option to have him keep wickets will be decided further ahead in the article).


Middle Order (Nos. 3-4): -

Options: - Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Nitish Rana

The debate for the no.3 slot is a no-brainer as the captain Virat Kohli slips into that slot very easily. He is the highest run-getter for India in T20Is (2928 runs in 79 innings @ 50.48 & 138.43), numbers which just showcase his mastery with this format. The question of who would partner him in this side to bat at No.4 or also at no.5, depending on the team combination that we opt and this would purely be on the basis of whether a specialist wicketkeeper is picked or KL Rahul takes the gloves.

  • Shreyas Iyer is the incumbent no.4 in the ODI side and his T20I record is also relatively decent (429 runs in 22 innings @ 26.81 @ 130.79). His IPL record in the past 3 seasons has also been pretty okay, where he now captains the Delhi Capitals, (IPL 2018- 411 runs in 13 innings @ 37.4 @ 133.0, IPL 2019-463 in 16 innings @ 30.9 @ 120.6, IPL 2020-519 runs in 17 innings @ 34.6 @ 123.9), but the declining strike rate in the last two editions and his emerging issues with dealing with the short-pitched stuff has become a bit of an issue, as also the fact that he at times has stalled the momentum of a growing innings for both Delhi Capitals in the IPL or for India. While his prowess against spin bowling is right up there with the best, his issues in getting stalled against quality pace bowling can be a slight drawback here.
  • Manish Pandey is statistically one of India’s most underrated T20I batsmen and his T20I stats do give that claim some degree of credibility (709 runs in 33 innings @ 44.31 @ 126.15). His IPL record since 2018 though has been relatively mediocre for a batsman of his talent (IPL 2018-284 in 13 innings @ 25.8 @ 115.4, IPL 2019-344 runs in 11 innings @ 43.0 @ 130.8, IPL 2020-425 runs in 15 innings @ 32.7 @ 127.6) and these numbers are unfortunately telling a story that doesn’t make for pretty reading for Pandey. Pandey has had issues with accelerating his innings in the later part of the innings and that for a batsman like him, batting lower down the order is not something he can do really well and he has to bat at no.4 and that too come into bat in the powerplay overs so that he can be at his most effective. While he offers a lot in the field, as he ranks amongst India’s best fielders currently, as a batsman, there are far too many issues with a Pandey around in the team, especially because of his relative inflexibility.
  • The next man in contention here is a player whose name was being constantly mentioned by every single former cricketer and expert as having been extremely unlucky to miss out on the touring party to Australia, Suryakumar Yadav or SKY. Suryakumar Yadav has been one of the most in-form batsman in the T20 format for both Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and then for the Mumbai Indian in the IPL since rejoining them in 2018. Having played as a 10-15 ball player in the lower middle-order for Kolkata Knight Riders from 2014-17, Surya was moved to open the innings for Mumbai Indian in 2018, which saw him score the highest runs in a single season by an uncapped Indian player in the history of the tournament (512 runs in 14 innings @ 36.6 @ 133.3). Since 2019 and then in the 2020 seasons, he’s batting at no. 3 and his numbers in the last two seasons have been quite superb, especially those in the 2020 season (IPL 2019-424 runs in 15 innings @ 32.6 @ 130.9, IPL 2020-480 runs in 15 innings @ 40.0 @ 145.5). One of the most notable improvements that he made to his batting, especially in 2020, was that he had upped his game against spinners in the off-side and that was most apparent in the 79* he scored against Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he controlled a tricky chase for Mumbai Indians and was targeting the off-side while batting against Yuzvendra Chahal. His game against pace bowling remains strong and he displayed his abilities of being able to hit big in the death overs in quite a few games, especially in a game against the Rajasthan Royals, where he showed his batting smarts while batting against Jofra Archer, by scooping him over third man for six, after being knocked on the head with a knuckleball just before the shot. While these numbers for SKY have come mostly batting in the top-3 of the Mumbai Indians line-up, he’s shown that he’s got the ability to be malleable with his game play and be the player who alongside Kohli, can grab the control of the middle overs phase for India in this format.
  • Another player who is worth a mention in this discussion is the Delhi and Kolkata Knight Riders’ left-handed batsman Nitish Rana. Rana has had 3 decent IPL seasons at KKR (IPL 2018-304 in 15 innings @ 23.4 @ 131.0, IPL 2019-344 in 11 innings @ 34.4 @ 146.4, IPL 2020-352 in 14 innings @ 25.1 @ 138.6), but those numbers also convey a little concern as he’s displayed his inconsistency through each of these seasons and also he’s shown the propensity of getting a little unstuck against the short-ball. The advantage that Rana does offer is the fact that he would offer the middle order a decent left-handed batsman and also critically, a few overs of off-spin bowling that could offer this team a little more flexibility with their bowling options. But his inconsistency with the bat is a little bit of a concern, which does make it tough for him to enter the fray properly.

After going about the data and analysing the choices here, Virat Kohli will be joined by Suryakumar Yadav at no.4 and Shreyas Iyer is staying as a reserve choice and may play depending upon the team combination.


Wicketkeeper-Batsman (No. 4/5): -

Options: - Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik (already selected as opener)

The decision about picking a specialist wicket-keeper in this XI is a hot topic of discussion, as this decision would determine not only the team combination that I will pick here, but also determine the batting order.

  • Rishabh Pant was the incumbent in this role, but a combination of bad form and an untimely injury has seen him lose his place in the Indian T20 side and his T20I record (410 runs in 25 innings @ 20.5 @ 121.66) does show his glaring inconsistencies. But his IPL record over the past 3 years has actually been pretty good (IPL 2018-684 runs in 14 innings @ 52.6 @ 173.6, IPL 2019-488 runs in 15 innings @ 37.5 @ 163.8, IPL 2020-342 runs in 14 innings @ 31.1 @ 114.8). His form in the 2020 edition was extremely patchy due to a combination of fitness problems and also a lack of confidence, which was always the hallmark of Pant’s game play, which in turn really impacted his performances. But, what can also not be denied is that Pant can set the texture of a game in a flash and that he’s one of the very few players capable of taking the attack to the bowlers from the first ball itself. Thus, having someone like Pant coming in at no.5 will be able to allow India to use his left-handed batting very effectively in the middle overs phase, where a lot of sides today use their wrist-spinners, which Pant really feeds on.
  • The other contender in this side for this role is the man who’s replaced Pant as the default no.2 wicket-keeper in the T20 side, Sanju Samson. Samson’s T20I record doesn’t make for pretty reading at any cost (83 runs in 7 innings @ 11.85 @ 118.57), while his IPL record over the last 3 seasons doesn’t make for bad reading though (IPL 2018-441 runs in 15 innings @ 31.5 @ 138.2, IPL 2019-342 runs in 11 innings @ 34.2 @ 149.3, IPL 2020-375 runs in 14 innings @ 28.8 @ 160.3). While his strike rate has increased in the last 3 seasons, there’s also a pattern that has emerged in Sanju Samson’s form in these seasons. He has scored about 60-70% of his run tally in the first 3-4 games of the season in all three seasons and has struggled for form in the remainder of the tournament, which reflects the levels of inconsistency he’s displayed over the years despite being one of the most eye-catching batsman to look at in the recent years of the IPL.
  • Another contender whose name is now starting to elicit more than a few whispers now is that of Jharkhand & Mumbai Indians’ left-hander Ishan Kishan. Kishan, who was the captain of the 2016 Under-19 World Cup team, which also had Rishabh Pant in it, had an outstanding 2020 season (516 runs in 13 innings @ 57.3 @ 146.2), where he batted either as an opener during the time Rohit Sharma was out due to injury or at no.4. His 2018 and 2019 seasons though were not the most consistent ones for him (2018 IPL-275 runs in 12 innings @ 22.9 @ 149.5, IPL 2020-101 runs in 6 innings @ 16.8 @ 101.0), but after spending some time with former India batsman Pravin Amre, who joined Mumbai Indians before the 2020 season, his game play saw a marked change, as he was now showing a great degree of comfort in hitting over the off-side with as much proficiency as he does while hitting into the leg-side. In this season, it was also apparent that he had grown as a cricketer and was not averse to taking control of any situation he was being confronted with while batting and took charge to win more than a few games for Mumbai while carrying his bat through to the end of either a first innings score or during a run-chase. His recent form, as well as the fact that he is regarded as a very competent wicketkeeper in the domestic game, makes him a very attractive in-form proposition for this team.
  • One forgotten name, in this list, that deserves a proper mention here, is that of the veteran Dinesh Karthik. Dinesh Karthik ranks amongst one of India’s best players in this format, and his T20I batting record (399 runs in 26 innings @ 33.25 @ 143.52) does give credence to this claim, as do his terrific nous of finishing T20 games for India, the 2018 Nidahas Trophy Final still remembered fondly by everyone. His IPL form though, has taken a bit of a hit, especially since falling out of favour with the selectors (2018 IPL-498 runs in 16 innings @ 49.8 @ 148.2, 2019 IPL-253 runs in 12 innings @ 31.6 @ 147.1, 2020 IPL-169 runs in 14 innings @ 14.1 @ 126.1), with his 2020 form being under considerable scrutiny, as he displayed a propensity of falling to wrist-spinners on quite a few occasions. His iffy recent form and the fact that the selectors have moved on from him due to their age-old issue of conflagrating numbers in one format of the game for selection or omission in another format, which happened with Karthik’s exclusion from the T20 side due to his poor 2019 World Cup form. Thus, despite having stirring numbers for India in the T20 format, Karthik remains out of the picture.
Considering the perilous question of ensuring team balance as well as having quality in the middle order, it would probably be prudent for India to revert to having Rishabh Pant take the mantle of the specialist wicketkeeper-batsman of this team, considering the X-Factor talent that he can bring to this side and that his presence at no.5 can lay the platform for India to embark on a death overs blitzkrieg. But depending on the bowling combination that I opt to pick here, especially the all-rounders, I may probably have to take the call of dropping Pant, if the combination necessitates the same.


All-Rounders (Nos. 5/6-7/8): -

Options: - Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia.

The all-rounders will hold the key to the balance of this side and thus picking the right set of all-rounders will be the key determinant of success for India in T20 cricket.

  • Hardik Pandya makes it to the team without much of a discussion. His prowess with the bat has been such that if he doesn’t bowl at all, due to the injury concerns surrounding him, he can easily hold his place in this side as a specialist batsman. His batting returns in the IPL have skyrocketed in the previous 2 editions i.e. 2019 & 2020 whereas he had a less-than satisfactory return with the bat in 2018, but ended up amongst the top-5 wicket-takers for the Purple Cap in that edition (2018 IPL-260 runs in 13 innings @ 28.9 @ 133.3 & 18 wickets in 13 innings @ 21.2 @ 8.93 RPO, 2019 IPL-402 runs in 15 innings @ 44.7 @ 192.3 & 14 wickets in 16 innings @ 27.9 @ 9.18 RPO, 2020 IPL-281 runs in 13 innings @ 35.1 @ 181.3). His recent form for India in the T20I series during the ongoing Australia tour was also extremely commendable and his intent of hitting from the first ball made him a really dangerous batsman for the Aussie bowlers. With his unique batting stance, he’s one of the hardest batsmen that a bowler can bowl to in this format and his presence in this side is a massive boost. His pace-bowling ability and the fact that he can hit the 140 km/hr mark before his injury makes his presence in the side close to indispensable. His bowling fitness essentially determines the entire team balance and whether KL Rahul has to take the big gloves or a specialist wicket-keeper is picked.
  • Ravindra Jadeja made a return to the T20 squad in 2019 on the back of a superb batting display in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals and has since improved quite a lot in that department, which was on display during the 2020 IPL season (232 runs in 11 innings @ 46.4 @ 173.1) and the 1st T20I between India & Australia in the ongoing tour, where his critical 44* (23) ensured India could somehow reach a competitive score to defend. His dynamism on the field adds another arrow in his quiver. But the issue with Jadeja the all-rounder in the white-ball game, especially in T20 cricket is that he’s not exactly a wicket-taking bowler and when he’s not taking wickets, his presence in the side as an all-rounder comes into question, with his bowling in the 2020 IPL being acutely disappointing (6 wickets in 13 innings @ 53.0 @ 8.75 RPO). His returns with both the bat and the ball in the 2018 & 2019 editions of the tournament too weren’t satisfactory, especially with the bat, while he was okay with the ball (2018 IPL-74 runs in 8 innings @ 17.8 @ 120.3 & 11 wickets in 14 innings @ 27.5 @ 7.39 RPO, 2019 IPL-87 runs in 9 innings @ 35.3 @ 121.8 & 15 wickets in 16 innings @ 22.9 @ 6.35 RPO). But considering his recent run of form and the improvement he’s showing as a batsman, he must rank as one of the front-runners to claim the spin-bowling all-rounder’s role in this side.
  • Washington Sundar has become a regular part of India’s T20 plans and that has a lot to do with his bowling form. After being misused by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 and 2019 seasons as a bowler (2018 IPL-38 runs in 5 innings @ 21.7 @ 171.1 & 4 wickets in 7 innings @ 48.0 @ 9.60 RPO, 2019 IPL-1 run in 2 innings @ 0.5 @ 33.3 & 4 wickets in 3 innings @ 18.5 @ 8.22 RPO), he had a good IPL 2020 with the ball where he didn’t take a lot of wickets, but bowled outstandingly for them in the powerplay overs (8 wickets in 15 innings @ 37.2 @ 5.96 RPO), with that Economy Rate particularly being the standout. He also has a good T20I record while bowling for India [21 wickets in 26 matches (25 innings) @ 29.14 @ 6.95 RPO], with his greatest advantage being that he bowls at the three-quarter length where a batsman is mostly caught in between trying to hit the ball or defend it, which makes him even more effective. Plus, the fact that he also operates in the powerplay overs makes it more flexible for the captain to use his bowling options in a flexible manner.
  • Another name that seems to have been forgotten by the selectors is that of Krunal Pandya. Krunal Pandya overall T20I record for India does make for decent reading [121 runs in 18 matches (9 innings) @ 24.2 @ 131.52 & 14 wickets in 18 matches @ 38.42 @ 8.11], but his IPL returns for the Mumbai Indians in the past 3 seasons have been slightly off-colour [2018 IPL-228 runs in 13 innings @ 22.8 @ 145.2 & 12 wickets in 13 innings @ 23.7 @ 7.07 RPO, 2019 IPL-183 runs in 14 innings @ 16.6 @ 122.0 & 12 wickets in 16 innings @ 27.9 @ 7.28 RPO, 2020 IPL-92 runs in 11 innings @ 18.2 @ 118.5 & 6 wickets in 16 innings @ 63.3 @ 7.57 RPO], but the low returns can also be mitigated by the fact that he’s not getting too many chances to bat or bowl, due to the overall strength of the Mumbai Indians team, where Krunal is often deployed mostly as a defensive spinner or as a floater in the batting order, a role which he has played relatively well for Mumbai and this gives his case for a permanent spot in the India T20 side a relative leg-up. As does his ability to deliver under pressure, which was evident in the 2017 IPL Final and also in some T20Is for India and also for India A.
  • Another forgotten name in this entire mix is that of Axar Patel, who according to many observers of the game, was a little unlucky to not be a part of the touring party to Australia. Axar had an impressive IPL 2020 with the ball (9 wickets in 15 innings @ 36.3 @ 6.41 RPO) and was relatively handy with the bat whenever he got the opportunity (113 runs in 9 innings @ 14.1 @ 136.1). Axar operates as the quintessential defensive spinner who cuts down the runs effectively without giving away too many boundaries in his spell and his batting is also relatively decent for the no.7 spot and is good in tackling a 10-15 ball scenario either in the first innings or during a run-chase.
  • Shivam Dube got his chances in the T20 squad on the back of his consistent performances for India A in the limited-overs series against South Africa A in September 2019 despite having a less-than impressive debut IPL season in 2019 [40 runs in 4 innings @ 13.3 @ 121.2 & 0 wickets in 2 innings] while his 2020 season record also wasn’t impressive either [129 runs in 9 innings @ 18.4 @ 122.9 & 4 wickets in 5 innings @ 18.2 @ 8.11]. His batting is still very much geared towards a leg-side slog game & he’s often come unstuck both for India and RCB in the chances he’s had till now with the bat for this reason, while his bowling is a little too slow & hittable as a medium pacer of his build. Thus, considering him for a permanent spot in the India T20 side seems a little premature as of right now due to the fact that his game is still a little too raw.
  • Vijay Shankar’s name has slipped out of the radar of the selectors, especially after returning home from the 2019 World Cup midway due to a toe injury and has been battling a series of injuries since then, including getting injured midway through the 2020 IPL season, at which time, he was having an okay tournament [97 runs in 5 innings @ 24.2 @ 101.0 & 4 wickets in 5 innings @ 20.5 @ 6.23 RPO], with his bowling actually being more effective than his batting, while in the previous two seasons, he was batting a lot more than he bowled, which was reflected in his records [2018 IPL-147 runs in 9 innings @ 53.0 @ 144.7 & 1 wicket in 4 innings @ 58.0 @ 11.60 RPO, 2019 IPL-193 runs in 12 innings @ 20.3 @ 126.4 & 1 wicket in 5 innings @ 70.0 @ 8.75 RPO]. Considering the fact that his run-ins with injuries are far too frequent and that it’s linked heavily to his bowling, Shankar might not be in the frame to get a recall anytime soon, at least in the T20 side.
  • The flavour of the season from IPL 2020 was undoubtedly Rahul Tewatia, who had an outstanding season with both the bat and ball for the Rajasthan Royals and being one of the few positives from what was otherwise a dreary campaign for them [255 runs in 11 innings @ 42.5 @ 140.1 & 10 wickets from 14 innings @ 32.6 @ 7.09 RPO] and the above-mentioned numbers are a reflection of how good he was for Rajasthan. He didn’t get as many opportunities in his stint with the Delhi Daredevils/Capitals in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, which is also reflected in his numbers [2018 IPL-43 runs in 5 innings @ 16.7 @ 116.3 & 6 wickets in 8 innings @ 28.8 @ 7.86 RPO, 2019 IPL-26 runs in 4 innings @ 26.0 @ 118.2 & 2 wickets in 3 innings @ 21.0 @ 6.63 RPO], but he’s made the most of his opportunities that came his way with Rajasthan this season. But considering the relatively high quality of bowlers in the T20I arena and that Tewatia’s batting technique may become a limitation against better quality bowling attacks, it may be a bit too much of an ask to slot him into the India T20I side immediately.
On evaluating the options available, the all-rounders that India should put into their T20I XI should be Hardik Pandya along-with a choice between Ravindra Jadeja and Krunal Pandya while Washington Sundar too is in the fray depending on whether Hardik Pandya is in bowling fitness, which would also determine as to whether KL Rahul takes the wicketkeeper’s role or Rishabh Pant does that.


Spinners (No. 8/9): -

Options: - Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Shreyas Gopal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy.

The role of the spinner, which at the time when the T20 game came into inception, was thought of being cannon fodder, but are now one of the most destructive weapons a captain now possesses in their bowling armoury. For India too in this format, they have a surfeit of options available with them and it’ll be worth examining the choices in the market.

  • Yuzvendra Chahal has been the undisputed no.1 option for India in the T20 game and his T20I record is a testament to his effectiveness [59 wickets in 45 matches (45 innings) @ 24.67 @ 8.29 RPO]. His fearlessness as a spinner against batsmen looking to attack constantly makes him a spinner that opposition batting orders wary of taking him on. His IPL records in the past 3 seasons at RCB too has been quite impressive [IPL 2018-12 wickets in 14 innings @ 30.2 @ 7.26 RPO, IPL 2019-18 wickets @ 21.4 @ 7.82 RPO, IPL 2020-21 wickets in 15 innings @ 19.0 @ 7.00 RPO], which is also a sign of the manner in which he’s been trusted by Virat Kohli, who captains him both for India and RCB to be a strike bowler for the team.
  • Kuldeep Yadav until 2019 was the other half of the “KulCha” double act, was one of the most dangerous spin bowlers in the world, especially due to the fact that he practices an art that very few spinners do, which is that of being a left-arm wrist spinner & used the mystique around his bowling to his advantage. His T20I record [39 wickets in 21 matches (20 innings) @ 13.76 @ 7.11 RPO] too makes for brilliant reading. But he’s now struggling majorly for control and his IPL records, especially since 2019 have been extremely disappointing & he’s not even a permanent in the Kolkata Knight Riders XI any longer [IPL 2019-4 wickets in 9 innings @ 71.5 @ 8.67 RPO, IPL 2020-1 wicket in 4 innings @ 92.0 @ 7.67 RPO], while he was in his elements during the 2018 season [17 wickets in 16 innings @ 24.6 @ 8.14 RPO]. The fact that he’s now no longer in the plan of the team management in the T20 side is a major concern for him and a little reinvention of his bowling style might help him.
  • Rahul Chahar has exploded into the consciousness of the selectors after having a breakout 2019 IPL season with Mumbai Indians [13 wickets in 13 innings @ 23.7 @ 6.55 RPO] and these numbers got him a T20I debut for India in their post-World Cup tour of the West Indies. He did reasonably well in the 2020 edition too [15 wickets in 15 innings @ 28.9 @ 8.17 RPO] but his path currently in this pecking order is blocked by the presence of Yuzvendra Chahal and also the all-rounder spin-bowling options around, but he’s definitely next in line to step into the breach.
  • Shreyas Gopal has been amongst the most consistent spin bowlers in the IPL from the previous 3 seasons and his numbers in these seasons do give credence to this claim [2018 IPL-11 wickets in 10 innings @ 21.5 @ 7.61 RPO, 2019 IPL-20 wickets in 14 innings @ 17.4 @ 7.23 RPO, 2020 IPL-10 wickets in 14 innings @ 42.7 @ 8.54 RPO]. Another advantage he offers in this mix is that he offers a useful batting option down at no.8 or no.9 and he can be relied upon in a tricky situation to ensure that the team can either set a competitive total or deliver in a tricky chase. But the drawback that he’s had is that he’s a little predictable with his wicket-taking stock delivery, which is the googly, which is something that a lot of the batsmen started to pick in the 2020 season and that hit his numbers a little bit. This predictability is his biggest disadvantage.
  • Ravichandran Ashwin has become the forgotten name in this entire conversation due to the bias that now exists about the effectiveness of finger-spinners in T20 cricket, but he’s been constantly innovating with his bowling. He remains to this day, one of India's highest wicket-takers in this format and his record [52 wickets in 46 matches (46 innings) @ 22.94 @ 6.97 RPO] says a lot about how good he has been in this format over the years. IPL records for Ashwin in the previous 3 seasons have been relatively consistent [IPL 2018-10 wickets in 14 innings @ 41.0 @ 8.09 RPO, IPL 2019-15 wickets in 14 innings @ 26.7 @ 7.27 RPO, IPL 2020-13 wickets in 15 innings @ 30.1 @ 7.67 RPO] and he’s a bowler who’s extremely canny and determined to do well in the format. But with his age and relative weakness in the field would probably draw him back in this race.
  • Varun Chakravarthy emerged as an option for the Indian T20 side due to his exploits in the 2020 IPL season, where he replaced Kuldeep Yadav as the strike Indian spinner at the Kolkata Knight Riders. His 2020 IPL record [17 wickets in 13 innings @ 20.9 @ 6.85 RPO] is an evidence of how effective he was as a mystery spinner and used his extensive bag of variations to put the opposition batsmen on their toes. This helped him get into the Indian T20 team for their ongoing tour of Australia, but had to pull out due to injury. The injury issues he’s had previously has become a major problem for him and that’s what may just hold him back.
Upon evaluating the options here and the statistical data available, Yuzvendra Chahal seems to be the main spinner for this side, with Rahul Chahar and Varun Chakravarthy being the other spinners who would be on the backups list.


Fast Bowlers (Nos. 9/10-11): -

Options: - Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, T. Natarajan, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma.

The pacers form the strike armoury division for any captain in the T20 game and India is now blessed with a litany of pacers, all of whom are extremely talented.

  • Jasprit Bumrah is the undisputed king of the fast bowlers of this format, not only in India, but also amongst the very best in the world. His 59 wickets in 50 T20I games is the joint-highest for India in this format and is a testament to his expertise in this format. His effectiveness in all phases of the innings, especially towards the death overs, when he can bowl the yorker at will, makes him one of the most dangerous fast bowlers in the world currently and he is a guaranteed inclusion in the side.
  • Mohammad Shami in the recent past has become a much better T20 bowler than he was earlier and his previous two IPL seasons i.e. the 2019 and 2020 seasons, where he played for the Kings XI Punjab, bear testimony to the improvement [2019 IPL-19 wickets in 14 innings @ 24.7 @ 8.69 RPO, 2020 IPL-20 wickets in 14 innings @ 23.0 @ 8.57 RPO]. His ability to strike with the new ball up front and swing the ball at high pace makes him a very useful customer at the start of an innings and he’s also improved upon his T20 death bowling skills, which were in display in the “Double Super Over” game in the 2020 IPL against the Mumbai Indians, where he bowled an outstanding Super Over of only yorkers to defend a paltry score of 6 runs to drag the match into a second Super Over. But he’s still only improving upon his T20 bowling and thus, might not be an automatic starter in the XI, but definitely remains in contention.
  • T. Natarajan rise from a village in the interiors of Tamil Nadu to becoming an India international has been nothing short of spectacular and emblematic of the meritorious culture of our cricketing setup. Natarajan had first emerged into prominence due to his ability to bowl the yorker with frighteningly high levels of consistency in the death overs during the TNPL and this season with the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he assumed the mantle of being the lead death overs bowler for them with ease. His 16 wickets in 16 games @ 31.5 and an economy rate of 8.02 in the 2020 IPL was nothing short of phenomenal, especially considering the fact that he’s bowling at the toughest phase of a T20 game and he absorbed the pressure with consummate ease. That saw him being picked as the replacement to Varun Chakravarthy in the T20I squad to Australia and emerged as the highest wicket-taker in the entire T20 series amongst both sides with 6 wickets in 3 games and his nerveless ability to constantly bowl the yorker in the death overs made him stand out from all other bowlers. Plus, the fact that he’s a left-arm pacer also adds to the variety of the attack and his performance in the 2020 IPL and now in Australia has marked him as a front-runner to partner Jasprit Bumrah in the death overs for India in the 2021 T20 World Cup.
  • Deepak Chahar had been doing the hard yards of the domestic circuit but his performances for the Chennai Super Kings in the 2018 IPL marked a turning point in his career as his ability to swing the white-ball upfront and take wickets in the powerplay overs really made him stand apart from the crowd [2018 IPL-10 wickets in 12 innings @ 27.8 @ 7.28 RPO], which also saw him make his T20I debut for India a few months later in England. The 2019 IPL season saw him evolve his skills into becoming a decent quality death bowler too, after the injury-enforced absence of Dwayne Bravo in a few games [2019 IPL-22 wickets in 17 innings @ 21.9 @ 7.47 RPO] and then his subsequent world-record breaking spell of 6/7, which also included a hat-trick, for India in their T20 series against Bangladesh, established him as a bowler of quality and potential in this format. His T20I record for India [18 wickets in 13 matches @ 20.11 @ 7.56 RPO] too highlights his potential in this format. If India do go in with 3 pacers in their XI, Chahar could be the perfect partner to Bumrah and Natarajan or Shami, because of his prowess in the powerplay can ensure that the captain can hold the other fast bowlers to bowl majorly towards the death overs.
  • Shardul Thakur offers a variation to this bowling attack and possesses skills that not many of the present crop of Indian fast bowlers possess, which is of being able to bowl a lot of variation deliveries and bowl a majority of his deliveries in the so-called “hard lengths”, where a batsman finds it hard to try and score off. His overall T20I record for India [23 wickets in 17 matches (16 innings) @ 22.73 @ 8.94 RPO] is pretty handy and a major advantage he holds over the many he’s competing with for a place is that he’s also a capable batsman in the no.8/9 spot and has the propensity of being able to use the long handle to good effect. His IPL records in the previous 3 seasons for the Chennai Super Kings too hasn’t been shabby [2018 IPL-16 wickets in 13 innings @ 26.9 @ 9.24 RPO, 2019 IPL-8 wickets in 9 innings @ 35.1 @ 9.37 RPO, 2020 IPL-10 wickets in 9 innings @ 27.5 @ 8.51 RPO]. Thus keeping in mind that he offers a good variation option and also is a capable batsman in the lower order, he too can be a decent pick for this T20 side.
  • Navdeep Saini’s X-Factor is that he offers to this side, grease-fire like pace and the ability to break the 145 km/h barrier with ease after each delivery. His overall T20I record for India too is actually pretty decent [13 wickets in 10 matches (9 innings) @ 18.07 @ 7.15 RPO] while he had mixed returns for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the previous two IPL seasons (2019 and 2020), as illustrated statistically  [2019 IPL-11 wickets in 13 innings @ 36.1 @ 8.27 RPO, 2020 IPL-6 wickets in 13 innings @ 63.2 @ 8.30 RPO]. But with this extreme pace, he’s also shown the propensity of being carted away for far too many runs for his liking and that may see him lose out to a Shami, Natarajan, Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur in the pecking order.
  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar has become somewhat of a forgotten entity in this entire discussion and a lot has to do with his recurring injury problems that has seen the likes of Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur leapfrog him into the Indian T20 plans. His T20I record for India [41 wickets in 43 matches @ 26.53 @ 7.04 RPO] is quite a testament to his skills as a canny new-ball operator who can get the ball to swing in either direction while also being a major threat during the death overs due to his ability to bowl a variation of conventional yorkers, wide yorkers and the knuckleball in that phase. But his repeated run-ins with injuries has also impacted his pace and his bowling rhythm in a major way. His performances too in the previous 3 seasons for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL also indicate the same [2018 IPL-9 wickets in 12 innings @ 39.3 @ 7.67 RPO, 2019 IPL-13 wickets in 15 innings @ 35.5 @ 7.81 RPO, 2020 IPL-3 wickets in 4 innings @ 33.0 @ 6.99 RPO]. With the queue that’s now jumped ahead of him, the chances of Bhuvi’s return in the mix are really tough.
  • Khaleel Ahmed’s name too has now slipped out of the reckoning for the selectors and a lot has to do with the fact that he’s been far too inconsistent in his bowling [India T20I record-13 wickets in 14 matches @ 35.30 @ 8.82 RPO]. This season in the IPL, he saw his spot in the team as the designated left-arm pacer go to T. Natarajan due to Natarajan’s better control in the death overs, something that Khaleel is yet to show. Considering that the Indian team management too has seemed to settle down on Natarajan, the chances for Khaleel to make a return to the team any time soon are quite remote.
  • Sandeep Sharma has been one of the most consistent performers in IPL history and has already scalped 109 wickets in 92 games and since joining the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018, he’s been one of their most important bowlers, especially at a time when they’re not able to call upon their main pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, due to many injury problems. His performances in the past 3 seasons has been pretty decent as well [2018 IPL-12 wickets in 12 innings @ 27.8 @ 7.57 RPO, 2019 IPL-12 wickets in 11 innings @ 29.3 @ 8.25 RPO, 2020 IPL-14 wickets in 13 innings @ 26.7 @ 7.19 RPO] and has recently improved upon his death bowling skills too. But the issue for the 2-cap India T20 International is that Deepak Chahar has vaulted over him in the pecking order for bowlers of a similar variety and the chances for Sandeep to once again enter the discussion are bleak.
Thus keeping all the above contentions in focus, the pacers India should opt for in their T20 XI are Jasprit Bumrah, T. Natarajan and Deepak Chahar in a 3-man pace attack with Mohammad Shami and Shardul Thakur being the backups for India.


Final XI: -

  1. KL Rahul (wk)
  2. Rohit Sharma
  3. Virat Kohli (wk)
  4. Suryakumar Yadav
  5. Hardik Pandya
  6. Ravindra Jadeja/Rishabh Pant (wk)
  7. Washington Sundar
  8. Deepak Chahar
  9. Yuzvendra Chahal
  10. Jasprit Bumrah
  11. T. Natarajan

Reserves: -

  1. Shikhar Dhawan
  2. Shreyas Iyer
  3. Rishabh Pant wk)/Ravindra Jadeja
  4. Krunal Pandya
  5. Rahul Chahar
  6. Shardul Thakur
  7. Mohammad Shami

Location: Delhi, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Favourite 2018 Cricketing Memory: Revisiting the epic of the Nidahas Trophy

2018 was a year that brought untold joy for the average Indian Cricket fan, even if there were a few disappointments around. The heartbreaking test series losses in South Africa and England were outweighed by the joy that unfolded on various fronts, be it winning the ODI series in South Africa, or winning the Asia Cup, or retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with those stupendous victories at Adelaide & Melbourne or in domestic cricket, where an unfancied Vidarbha team shocked the giants of domestic cricket to win the Ranji Trophy or of seeing Rahul Dravid’s young charges in the Under-19 team win the ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. But for me, my favourite 2018 cricketing moment was of seeing a young & inexperienced Indian team being led by Rohit Sharma, win the Nidahas Trophy T20 Tri-Series in Sri Lanka in March, which was to see Bangladesh join as the third team with Sri Lanka and India. When the selectors decided to sit down to pick the team for the series, they...
Read more

From The Vault: - The Tendulkar Caper at Hyderabad

The name of Sachin Tendulkar is not just another name. It’s a name that evokes different feelings for different people. For an opposition fielding and bowling line-ups, his entry evoked fear, circumspection and on occasions, a sudden call to attention for the bowlers. For his own team and the batsman at the other end, it gave them the best seat in the house to watch a master craftsman create a new work of art. For the fans in the stadium and the hundreds of millions other who watched him on a television set or were listening in on their radio sets, his entry would make them switch off their lives, so said BBC Sports about him. On 5 th November 2009, just days before he completed 20 years of his international career, he added another legendary knock in his overflowing collection of legendary knocks against an opposition he loved to face, while trying to execute another major heist. For those who probably have lost the context of what was happening on 5 th November 2009, Australi...
Read more