Hampered by injuries to key players, India will need their batters to find an extra gear in Australia to compensate for their bowling limitations if they are to lift the T20 World Cup trophy for a second time.
India, who won the first edition of the tournament in 2007, lost fast bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah to a back injury and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to a knee problem in the lead-up to the event. Bumrah’s absence will not only rob India of his new-ball skills but Rohit Sharma’s team will also miss his pinpoint yorkers and variations in the death overs.
Jadeja required surgery on the injured knee and his accurate bowling in the middle overs, hard-hitting batting lower down the order and electric fielding will leave a gaping hole in the side. “Injuries are part and parcel of the sport, there is nothing much that can be done about it,” Sharma told reporters. “When you play so many games, injuries are bound to happen. Our focus in this last year was that we should build our bench strength.” The experienced Mohammed Shami was drafted in for Bumrah but has not played any international cricket since July, while left-armer Axar Patel will have big shoes to fill as Jadeja’s replacement for India, who open their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.
Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli make up the top three of India’s batting line-up but it will be the middle order of Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik that will hold the key to their title hopes. Yadav, second in official rankings for T20 batters, has mesmerising shot-making ability while Pandya’s big-hitting ability is well documented in white-ball cricket. — Reuters
BattING sorted, Pakistan eye glory
For a side used to tumultuous build-ups, Pakistan look unusually settled to launch their bid for a second title with a Super 12 showdown against arch-rivals India on Sunday. Sorting out a misfiring middle-order was top of skipper Babar Azam’s to-do list heading into a tri-series in New Zealand as the burden of scoring runs had fallen on him and vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan. “Our middle-order stepped up in the last two matches,” Azam said.
Kiwis look to take off
New Zealand looked destined to fly into every tournament a little under the radar but having reached the T20 World Cup final last year, a golden generation of Black Caps can only improve by lifting the trophy in Melbourne. Coach Gary Stead has a largely settled squad with a strong, if not super-powerful, batting line-up highlighted by captain Kane Williamson, and an experienced bowling unit that can destroy any side on its day.
Tough case for defence?
Defending champions Australia have had a patchy build-up to their World Cup defence but few would dare underestimate Aaron Finch’s men when they flick the switch to tournament mode this week. An underdone Australia gelled superbly during last year’s triumph in the UAE and 14 of that 15-man squad will bid for back-to-back titles. Despite some fitness concerns, Australia bring a balanced line-up with no discernible weak links.
England 2.0
England’s limited-overs teams underwent their own reset long before the Test side had even dreamed of ‘Bazball’ but they go into the World Cup on the heels of another revamp following the retirement of captain Eoin Morgan. They do not appear to have settled on a first-choice line-up but that is mainly because they have an embarrassment of batting riches, with some of the big names rested for the recent series in Pakistan.
S africa look to go north
With a battery of quick bowling backed up by some formidable batters, South Africa have the opportunity to finally break their T20 World Cup duck. South Africa have a history of failing to deliver at the World Cups, progressing no further than the semifinals stage at both the 50-over event and the T20 version. While there is plenty of cause for optimism, South Africa go into the tournament with their captain Temba Bavuma out of form.
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