T20I World Cup: More questions than answers!

Team India before the start of their Asia Cup match against Pakistan in Dubai recently. Pics/Getty Images

When the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian squad for the T20I World Cup through a press release on Monday, there were questions galore in the minds of the media and critics alike, but had no answers forthcoming as there was no interaction, online or otherwise, planned for them with the team management or even the national selectors.

The media may have many unanswered questions, but one hopes that the team management will have all the answers before the squad leaves for the mega event in Australia next month.

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India pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel

The biggest question concerns the fitness of the two main fast bowlers - Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel. They have been away from the game for a couple of months and there is no update on their progress or recovery timeline in the press release. Fortunately, the BCCI has lined up two three-match T20I home series against Australia and South Africa before the Men in Blue travel to Australia for the T20I World Cup, with the main round beginning on October 22. In these six T20I matches at home, we will hopefully get some answers concerning the fitness of the duo and know if they will be fit enough to be part of the strenuous tournament to be played on big grounds and hard pitches Down Under. The only thing we know right now is that there are two pace bowlers on standby for the T20I World Cup - Mohammed Shami and Deepak Chahar. So, we presume, the team management is still wary about the fitness of Bumrah and Harshal and that's the reason both Shami and Chahar are also part of the teams that will take on Australia and South Africa at home.

Right now it seems pretty obvious that if Bumrah is not fit enough to play the World Cup then Shami will replace him. Though it seems odd that Shami, who is not considered good enough to earn his place on his own merit, is good enough to replace Bumrah. Chahar too is on standby in case Harshal fails the fitness test before the team's departure. Besides, Arshdeep Singh during the home series against Australia, and Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar during the South African series will be sent to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore to work on their fitness. Hopefully, they will clear their fitness tests to travel to Australia.

Poor show at Asia Cup

Besides the fitness of the pacers, another major concern is India's lacklustre performance at the recent Asia Cup in Dubai. It has put a question mark on the form of the top three batters as skipper Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli have had issues with both form and strike rate throughout the tournament. Also, the inconsistency of the middle order has been quite glaring. The conditions will be much tougher Down Under so the struggle of the batting line-up is disconcerting. Of course, the top three were able to play an innings or two of substance which is a good sign.

Another dilemma is whether to play Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik as the wicket-keeper or whether DK fits in as a pure batsman, having been considered in the role of a finisher. At the Asia Cup, they got limited opportunities to provide a definite answer.

Also in doubt is the role and utility of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. The experienced campaigner has warmed the bench more often than not, and the way he was handled in Dubai, it seems the team management has no confidence in him. Yet, he is in the squad for the T20I World Cup. There is no doubting his experience and calibre, but surely he's not considered a frontline spinner anymore. So, his role remains a mystery. Shami could've been picked in his place.

Despite all the questions and concerns, the only good thing is that the team management has always been sure of the squad they would take to Australia. In the midst of the Asia Cup, when skipper Rohit was asked about the World Cup squad, he had said that they had zeroed in on 90 to 95 percent of the team. And that's exactly what has happened. Only Ravi Bishnoi and Avesh Khan and his replacement Deepak Chahar from the Asia Cup squad have been left out.

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Players in waiting

The skipper's statement virtually closed the doors on players waiting in the wings like Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, who must now bide their time till after the World Cup.

There is no doubt that skipper Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid had zeroed in on the squad quite early, apparently their aim being to "swim or sink with the team of our choice". But have they ticked all the boxes going into the mega event? India's recent performance in the UAE has raised numerous issues for the team management and selectors alike. No wonder they did not want to face the media after the Asia Cup debacle.