India have announced a strong 15-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup with Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill as captain and vice-captain, respectively. However, a major issue persists in the squad and it remains to be seen if the management will take the risk of playing only seven batters.
Team India, led by Suryakumar Yadav, is set to embark on its Asia Cup campaign in the first week of September. They will start their campaign against the UAE on September 10 in Dubai and will face arch-rivals Pakistan four days later. The team is looking extremely strong and India are no doubt the favourites, but looking at the squad, it seems that the current team management will have to move from its stance of having depth in batting line-up.
There is no definite No.8 batter in the squad to be picked. India look set to play Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy in their bowling line-up and all four bowlers are not even decent batters in the shortest format of the game. They can hang around if needed but the requirements of a T20 game are such that quick runs are expected from a player batting at number eight.
But none of them can be dropped as well. All four bowlers are wicket-takers and proven performers. Team India literally cannot fathom dropping even a single bowler among them.
Will India take a risk of dropping either Kuldeep or Varun to play Harshit, who can bat at 8?
Well, a lot is being said about the merit in Harshit Rana’s inclusion in the squad. He has played only one T20I and didn’t have a great IPL either, picking up 15 wickets in 13 matches at an economy of 10.18. However, he is a better batter compared to the aforementioned bowlers and can bat at eight if included in the line-up.
Is this the reason for his inclusion in the squad? The current Indian management is inclined towards having depth in the batting line-up at least till eight, especially in the shortest format. But for that to happen, they will have to leave out a genuine wicket-taking bowler. Will India take that risk and back Harshit to contribute with the ball?
However, Harshit hasn’t stepped up as a batter yet in the blue jersey either and there doesn’t seem to be any logic in that move.
Pressure on top 6 to do the job?
If India end up opting for four specialist bowlers in Bumrah, Arshdeep, Kuldeep, and Varun, their tail will be long. In that case, the pressure will be on the top six batters to do the job. Will the likes of Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma be able to bat freely then? The fearless approach of the Indian team will be tested in the Asia Cup and in a way, that will be a good test for them with the T20 World Cup only six months away.
India’s likely playing XI:ย Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma/Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
Here’s India’s squad for Asia Cup
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