NEW DELHI: It fits with head coach Gautam Gambhir‘s high-risk, high-reward strategy, but can India’s Champions Trophy team do well at the ODI showcase after losing their game-changing pace talisman Jasprit Bumrah to injury?
Given the bold decisions made to choose the final 15, the answer to that issue is not really clear-cut.
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The drafting in of five spinners is the first step in the selection risks. Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Ravindra Jadeja will all be part of the spin-heavy bowling attack on the aircraft to Dubai.
Bumrah has been replaced by Harshit Rana, while Mohammed Siraj, who is more experienced, has been placed in the non-traveling reserves along with all-rounder Shivam Dube and rookie batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Dubai, where pacers have historically had greater success in the 50-over format, will host India’s matches.
According to available data, India’s home stadium, the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, has held 58 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) since 2009. During that time, pacers have claimed 466 wickets at an average of 28.6 and economy of 4.8.
Together, the spinners have taken 334 wickets at the DICS so far, and they average 30 runs with a marginally higher economy of 4.2.
“The Dubai surface has a bit more carry than say in Sharjah, and the pacers here have found some good success and that’s why Pakistan has picked more pacers in their squad, though they are supposed to play only a couple of matches here,” a former national selector told PTI.
“If you use the new ball well, then you can have a good purchase there. I am not faulting the selection of Varun. He is in good form, but I would have liked to see one more experienced pacer in that side, someone like Siraj,” he added.
Having five spinners appears to be an overestimation of the situation from the outside. But because of Chakravarthy’s outstanding recent form, the management decided to take a chance.
After failing to perform well in the T20 World Cup 2021 at the same location, Chakravarthy has been trusted to perform well in a multi-nation competition.
The fact that Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand, India’s league stage opponents in the Champions Trophy, have never faced him before may have tipped the odds in his favor.
He also benefited from the way he was able to cause England problems in the current home series by being a mystery to the visitors.
On the other hand, it puts Kuldeep Yadav in danger. Given their batting prowess, Jadeja and Axar are the preferred spinners; hence, Kuldeep and Chakravarthy will compete for the third spinner’s spot.
Chakravarthy can pip the left-arm wrist spinner, at least in the early going of the Champions Trophy, if India adopts the strategy of the most recent second ODI match against England at Cuttack.
Placing Rana ahead of Siraj as Bumrah’s substitute for a competition where teams must walk a tightrope between three league-phase matches is another example of selection dilemma.
According to conventional wisdom, experience is more important in these situations than explosiveness, yet the wise guys chose to use Rana.
Captain Rohit Sharma claims that Siraj was left out of the main event because of his inefficiency with the old ball.
Rana has demonstrated his ability to strike when the white ball loses its lacquer twice previously on that count.
Rana, who was the sixth bowler in his T20I debut and a controversial replacement for Shivam Dube due to a concussion, finished with game-changing numbers of 3 for 33.
Rana went for a few runs in ODIs, but he had the guts to bowl three spells in three different parts of the game.
The management has taken a chance by putting their faith in Rana to advance in his position swiftly and perform well in a demanding competition when needed.
After Bumrah was disqualified due to a lower back ailment, it is a prevalent belief that the selectors wanted a bowler with a certain air of mystery in the squad.
So, they chose Chakravarthy, who was in form. Justifiable decision. However, why pick him over opener Jaiswal?
Should they have swapped him out for a spinner? To make room for Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar might have been the one left out.
The opening dilemma that plagued them in the first ODI against England at Nagpur, however, has also been evaded by the selectors in a single shot.
Having Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer in the same eleven was difficult, but they were momentarily relieved when Virat Kohli got hurt.
The big wigs did not want an encore in Dubai, and Jaiswal missed the second match after Kohli returned.
Shubman Gill, who struck two fifties in as many ODIs against England, and Rohit, who scored a century at Cuttack, are now being trusted by India to perform well in the Champions Trophy.
Instead of putting pressure on the other middle-order players, they hope Kohli will find a way to resume his imposing scoring ways.
The management has taken a chance by assuming that the top five will be in excellent form for the duration of the competition.
Additionally, they have jeopardized Hardik Pandya‘s historically questionable fitness and his capacity to fill the void as the third seamer behind Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana.
India appears to have taken too many chances based on the squad. Will they receive the high prize they want? Or will they falter?
For now, it’s the alluring unpredictability of a path fraught with danger.