After embracing a more modern approach, why did they go back to Rohit and Virat, two players whose limitations in this format were front and centre in each of the last two editions in the UAE and Australia? To be fair to both of them, they have displayed an intent one wouldn’t normally associate with them. At the 50-over World Cup (granted it’s never good to mix formats), Sharma’s penchant for quick starts gave the team the necessary platform. This version of the captain loves going over the in-field during the powerplay (his S/R of 170 in IPL 2024 is one of his best seasons ever). With Kohli, you know what you will get. The paternity break hasn’t made him rusty; if anything, it has made him hungrier. His powerplay numbers (while opening) in IPL 2024 is similarly up (154.4; it has never been this high previously). It shows both of them are conscious about their weakness and are working towards addressing a long-standing issue.
Another possible reason for going back to the tried and tested could be the make-up of the pitches in the West Indies (as long as India qualify for the second group phase). They tend to be on the slower side with 170-180 about par. This being the case, a sedate powerplay may not be terminal to their chances.
However, there’s still a glaring issue; both are susceptible against left-arm pace and can be tied down versus spin. Kohli, in fact, struggles a lot against left-arm spin. So, there are multiple negative match-ups that the opposition can look to exploit.
On balance, there’s multiple pros and cons for sticking rather than twisting. The BCCI, like they have tended to do during big-ticket events, have fallen on the side of conservatism. Will Kohli and Sharma repay the faith the BCCI have continued to put in them?
The first set of answers will be available in the first week of June.
Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Reserves: Shubman Gill, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Rinku Singh
