New Delhi: A seemingly unstoppable force in the shortest format, the current India squad has an aura of invincibility around it unlike the one that ended the cricketing powerhouse’s long wait for an ICC title in Barbados 19 months ago.
Rohit Sharma, the captain of that T20 World Cup-winning outfit, led from the front with his fearless play at the top of the order as India finally found a successful T20 template after years of holding back in the shortest format.
Fair to say, the current lot has built on that approach and taken India’s T20 game to the next level. It appears that only an extremely bad day in office can deny them the trophy at home.
“There are a few changes (to the side) but this team has gone to the next level since Rohit inspired his team to that trophy couple of years ago. The way they played against New Zealand recently was something special.
“Unless they have one bad day, which can happen in this format, India should be able to win the trophy again,” former India wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta told PTI.
Eight members of the Suryakumar Yadav-led squad were a part of the winning campaign in the Caribbean.
There is no Rohit or Virat Kohli but such is the depth of Indian cricket, the side did not take long to move from the superstars even though all-rounder Hardik Pandya has endured in his role as the glue that holds the squad together.
Since that come-from-behind win over South Africa in the 2024 final in Barbados, the additions to the national team have been Abhishek Sharma and Varun Chakaravarthy, who currently lead the charts in the ICC batting and bowling rankings.
Tilak Varma too is a welcome addition to the unit, having come of age in the Asia Cup last year. Shivam Dube, who was a part of the 2024 edition, is now delivering on his promise both as a batter and bowler.
Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh are two frontline pacers and if needed, Harshit Rana is available as an able back-up, having made an impact recently with both bat and ball.
Ishan Kishan was a surprise inclusion in the World Cup squad as a back-up wicket-keeper batter but is certain to start in the lung-opener against USA after a memorable comeback series against New Zealand.
The dominance over New Zealand in the series was a warning sign to the rival teams and came despite Sanju Samson being in poor form at the top of the order alongside a marauding Abhishek Sharma.
To put India’s superiority in perspective, they have amassed the most amount of 200 plus totals (20) since October 2023 and go into the World Cup as the leading six-hitting side (10.99 balls per sixes).
A majority of credit for that goes to Abhishek, who has pushed the boundaries of T20 cricket with his sensational six-hitting and strike rate. His strike rate of 194.74 is far greater than his peers.
Apart from dealing with the Sanju Samson conundrum, the management has little work to do with less than a week before the first game against USA at the Wankhede.
It has also become clear that Kuldeep Yadav would find it tough to make the eleven if both Arshdeep and Bumrah are part of the side.
“It is sad that Sanju is not in form. And it also kind of makes things a little tricky for the Indian side. But it was good to see Tilak playing that side game yesterday.
“But the next challenge is how serious are you looking at a left-right combination? Yeah. And if Surya bats at four, then you’re looking at top three left-handers (Abhishek, Kishan, Tilak), which I personally think it’s fine,” said Dasgupta.
India are the team to beat but Dasgupta feels they could be tested in the later stages of the tournament where pitches could be tired making batting trickier.
There is no Kohli to anchor the innings if the need arises but the likes of Suryakumar and Tilak can play that role rather than going at one tempo.
“Virat played a very, very important role in the last World Cup because of pitches that he played on. So if the pitch is doing something and you have the power-hitters like you do, it is very, very difficult for them to adapt. Because that is the only way they play.
“But I still think you need somebody who can play that holding role. Not necessarily that you have to play that role in every game.
“When I look at Tilak and Surya, India have got in this side these two guys who can change their game based on conditions,” added Dasgupta.
