Captain’s Call

IT IS NOW LESS THAN two weeks to go for the Champions Trophy. And the doom and gloom notwithstanding, India, in my opinion, will go into the tournament as one of the favourites. Unlike in red-ball cricket where the team has struggled in the last six months, in white-ball cricket, India has been brilliant. They are the defending world champions in the T20 format and runners-up in the ODI 50-over format. Between these two ICC tournaments and over 20 matches played in them, India has lost just one—the 2023 final to Australia. Also, the ODI team has a more settled look to it and there is no reason why India will not do well in Dubai.

Going into the tournament, there is a lot of talk about Rohit Sharma, the captain. It is true that Rohit has been struggling in red-ball cricket. Even against Jammu & Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy, he looked uncertain. He tried to hit his way back to form in the second innings and while he did middle a couple of shots for six, it was a scratchy innings at best. In white ball, however, things should be different. Rohit will have much more self-belief and it is expected that he will be the same aggressive self that he was in the 2023 World Cup.

Shubman Gill, Rohit’s opening partner and one who is fresh from a 100 against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, will know that he now has the additional responsibility as vice-captain. With Yashaswi Jaiswal breathing down his neck, much will depend on how Gill and Rohit start the tournament. A couple of failures and the clamour to get Jaiswal in could start to get louder.

The middle order has a very settled look. While it will be Virat Kohli at number three, it is expected that Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul will play at numbers 4 and 5. Rishabh Pant, too, could get a look in at number 5 and I wouldn’t be surprised if Pant and Rahul both play the first couple of games with Pant donning the keeping gloves. At number 6 or 7 will be Hardik, who in my book, is India’s most important white-ball player. Back at his best, Hardik Pandya is the best white ball all-rounder by a distance and has the experience to absorb pressure. Against Pakistan, for example, a match that is won as much in the mind as on the pitch, Hardik will hold the key.

Coming to the bowling, it will be Axar Patel who will be the first choice left-arm spinner to start with. Extremely able with the bat as we have seen time and again during the World T20 in the US and the Caribbean, it is a tough ask to choose one between Axar and Ravindra Jadeja. In fact, India wouldn’t be any worse off if they play both. Jadeja, fresh from a 12-wicket haul against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy, will be a handful in Dubai conditions and his batting is always an added bonus lower down the order. Kuldeep Yadav could complete the spin bowling line-up and is now a much-improved operator. While Arshdeep will surely be one of the two fast bowlers, the second slot could go to one between Jasprit Bumrah (if he is fit) or Mohammed Shami. While India will not want to risk Bumrah, it also remains to be seen how Shami fares when he is finally given an opportunity. With Jaiswal, Washington Sundar and possibly Harshit Rana on the bench (in case Bumrah misses out), this is an extremely strong white-ball unit.

Also, in his brief tenure so far, head coach Gautam Gambhir has looked more comfortable in white-ball than in red-ball cricket. Maybe because he has had success as a coach or a mentor with the white ball, it just seems to give him a bit more comfort. Either way, this is a team that will go to Dubai with much promise.

The conditions aren’t expected to be much different than in India and if we look at the Dubai T20 league, for example, not too many games have been high scoring. Spinners will surely have a role to play and that’s where the likes of Kuldeep and Axar should make a difference. Perhaps that is the reason India wouldn’t miss Jasprit Bumrah too much if he is unable to make it back from injury.

Could this be the last time that we see Rohit Sharma lead India? Will he get picked for the England red-ball tour on current form? Even if he is picked, will he stay on as skipper when his own form doesn’t guarantee him a place in the starting eleven? Does Rohit have it in him to stay on till the 2027 World Cup or will he want to call it a day if he has a good Champions Trophy?

Knowing Rohit, he wouldn’t want to stay on if he isn’t welcome in the dressing room. Having been around for nearly two decades, Rohit has seen it all. From the extreme highs of the World Cup win to the lows of the defeat against New Zealand, he has seen and lived the entire spectrum. Based on experience, Rohit will know that all this talk on his form will be forgotten if he plays a stellar hand against Pakistan. It is the one game that Indian fans will want to win and with all that has transpired between the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Pakistan Cricket Board in the last few months, the India- Pakistan game will be a high-intensity affair. Pakistan will miss Saim Ayub and India will surely go into the match as the favourite. But as with all India-Pakistan games, individual brilliance could well determine the outcome and that’s what Rohit will hope to do himself, much like the 2019 50-over World Cup game in Manchester. It was his 140 that closed the game out for India, and a win against Pakistan will be exactly what a troubled Rohit Sharma needs at this point. A win will also help in opening the doors for the semi-final and ease the pressure on the captain.

With the final pool match against New Zealand on March 2, a team that has always troubled India in the International Cricket Council events, India will want to close things out before they face the Kiwis. That’s what will give Rohit a breather and allow him to experiment a little in the final group encounter.

To go back to what I had started with—India surely has a chance in the Champions Trophy. The results in Australia notwithstanding, there is absolutely no reason to think that stalwarts like Virat and Rohit will not score runs in Dubai, and that the bowling sans Bumrah will not stand up. Dubai will have very different conditions compared to Australia and India will know it is an opportunity. To make a statement and redeem themselves in the process. While it is foolish to extrapolate white-ball results and mask red-ball defeats, a win in the Champions Trophy will indeed be of significance. Rohit will become the only skipper apart from Dhoni to win both, the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, and there could be no better way to close out his stint as captain of India.

Hardik PandyaIndian captainIndian cricketJasprit BumrahRohit SharmaT20 World Cup 2024