India’s 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup 2021 has already been picked, but changes can still be made up to October 10. Given the odd form of some of the first-choice players, and the impressive performances of those not initially picked, a change of personnel should not be ruled out.
Not everyone in the Indian cricketing fraternity is in favour of changes so close to the tournament though. Cricketer-turned-expert Ajit Agarkar, speaking to Star Sports recently, said that barring injury, changes shouldn’t be made. Others, such as Aakash Chopra, feel that there’s a need to make tweaks, given the form of the squad that was initially selected.
If there’s indeed a need to bring in reinforcements, the following players are likely to find themselves at the top of the pecking order:
Strong contenders
Yuzvendra Chahal
At first sight, the spin attack looks sufficiently stacked, and there’s little to no room to add more slow bowling to the squad. However, keeping a player of Chahal’s experience and calibre out might leave India without a proper match-winner in a global tournament. In the IPL, Chahal has been as good as he usually is, making the ball grip and turn on slow UAE pitches, and has been typically crafty in mixing up deliveries. He’s done that with the run-rate under check in the middle overs – could he be the missing wrist-spin piece in India’s bowling puzzle?
Shreyas Iyer
Iyer is part of the reserves list, losing some crucial time in the lead up to the tournament due to a shoulder injury. India’s top three looks set in stone, but it’s after that that the doubts begin – Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have both looked out of sorts recently, and Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya are yet to hit their best. Over the last few years, Iyer has emerged as a reliable head, one who can both weather the storm and ride it. On difficult pitches in the IPL, Iyer has put forth some strong performances, averaging 42 in the UAE leg. While he’s yet to properly bring out his attacking game, a game-changing innings in the next few days could really strengthen his case.
Dark horses
Shardul Thakur
Thakur, part of the reserves list, would be eyeing a promotion especially with the floundering fortunes of Hardik Pandya, the only seam-bowling all-rounder in the squad. That Hardik won’t be bowling soon was made clear by the MI outfit, making one wonder if he can still hold onto his place if he’s only contributing in one of the two departments. Thakur is no Pandya, but is a wily bowler in the middle overs, almost built to prise out breakthroughs, and is also a flashy lower-order batsman (his T20I strike-rate is 197.14). Adding him in the side keeps the balance somewhat intact, more so with India choosing just three seamers.
Deepak Chahar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled like a dream in the home series against England earlier this year, but has fallen down a few notches since. He looks in dire need of a refocus, having lost his zing in the death overs, and has been feeding loose deliveries with the old ball. Thus far, he’s picked just two wickets in the UAE leg, with experts also raising fitness concerns. With him being one-third of the pace attack, that’s far from ideal.
Deepak Chahar, as close to a like-for-like replacement you can get, then emerges as a strong contender: one of India’s best T20 bowlers of late, he’s been a revelation in powerplays, while also developing his yorker and slower balls to fine-tune his death bowling. He’s part of the reserves list – India might do well adding a wicket-taker like him in the main squad.
Outside bets
Avesh Khan
Avesh Khan has already experienced being a reserve bowler for India on different tours, but is yet to properly break into the first team. In the IPL, he’s been exemplary, evolving into a completely different bowler who attacks batsmen, bowling scorching yorkers at will. Physically transformed to turn into a leaner, meaner pace machine, Avesh has been regularly clocking 140 kph and looks to be a bright future prospect. While unlikely, it seems to be an exciting idea for India to suddenly unleash a tearaway quick ahead of a big tournament. On paper, it gives their pace attack an added edge among their trio of experienced seamers.
Sanju Samson
This is a debatable call, much like every opinion on Samson. Some say he’s one of India’s brightest T20 hitters, others feel that he’s just too inconsistent for international cricket. In the UAE though, Samson has shown that he’s a power-packed performer, and given how this IPL is going, the debate is slowly leaning towards the pro-Samson category once again. On pitches that suit his game, Samson has a century and two fifties from 12 IPL games this year, striking at 139.53. With Ishan Kishan’s wavering form, Samson could do the backup wicketkeeping duties too.
Arshdeep Singh
Perhaps the wildest shout of them all, but also a really good entry on paper. India has long struggled to find a good left-arm quick, and there are enough benefits to the angle and novelty that a bowler of that kind brings to an attack. Arshdeep isn’t just a skilful bowler, he’s also an intelligent one, and almost always keeps a level head while bowling at the death. Purely going by his performances in the IPL (he’s got 16 wickets at 19.18 in IPL 2021 so far), Arshdeep deserves a spot at least in the reserves, but even if not now, there’s a bright future lying in wait for the 22-year-old.
