There is something exciting about the India’s T20I squad which is going to take on West Indies. This is a young, fresh-looking squad, picked looking at the future, with some seniors obviously missing. I like the squad more because it features names who have done exceedingly well in India’s main T20 competition, which is the Indian Premier League. When players get rewarded for their good show in IPL, it is always a good sign. There are several examples of such players. Yashaswi Jaiswal is one. His performance in IPL has been rewarded, not just in Test cricket but also in T20Is. It is a good message to the domestic players playing in IPL that if you perform well, you are going to get rewarded for it.
The game has changed and good to see India adapting to the change
Looking at the modern T20 game, one feels that the game has changed a lot and older and established players have found it difficult understandably to adapt. The perception of ‘value on one’s wicket’ now is completely different for an older player and one from the modern generation. The players from the older generation put a lot of value on their wicket. That is what they have grown up with. That is what has made them what they are today. It is very difficult for some of these more established players to accept the idea of giving away your wicket to score runs quickly.
In modern day T20 game, strikes rates have become more important than milestones. It was evident watching in the IPL wherein a number of senior players would take a cautious approach to reach a milestone when they were near one. They would take a single or a double to do so. Then there were the youngsters who would look to continue striking the ball irrespective of the score they were batting on. Even if they were on 49, they would try and hit a six or a four the next ball.
In my view, it is important to have experienced players in the team from time to time, you cannot just have the influx of youth and inexperience but as a rule, with the bat in hand, it is important to give respect to the strike rates now. It is important to note that 50s and 100s are not the only reflection of a match-winning knock. The quick 20s, 30s have become good scores. In the modern T20 game, strike rates are the key area of assessment for the batter. It is good to see that India are looking to play some of their best, younger players, with a view to what ahead in the next couple of years.
India’ talent pool is amazingly rich and the fact that someone as talented as Ruturaj Gaikwad has not been able to make it to the T20I squad reflects the same. However, India have not been able to perform the way they would have liked across the white-ball formats for a while now. I feel this is a kind of seminal momen t for these youngsters to show what they can do and put India in a strong position in this format. There is no question that they have an unbelievable talent available. It falls upon the Jaiswals, Suryakumar Yadavs, Ishna Kishans and Sanju Samsons to take up the responsibility and start producing the results.
India are also trying to solve a big conundrum with regards to the first-choice wicketkeeper/batter. The question is: Ishan Kishan or Samson? For me, it is Kishan who gets the nod. But this is a nice problem for the management to have.
Shubman Gill might still be a young kid, learning the game but he will now be the more experienced player in the lineup. He will have a role to play in helping some younger guys come in. Hardik Pandya will have a huge role to play in taking this T20I side to a new height. I am fan of Pandya and I like how calm he is as a leader. How he relaxes his teammates with his body language and words and gets the best out of them. How he encourages them to play their best game. He is not someone who saddles players with burden and expectations. Pandya as T20I captain is really a good appointment. I hope he stays fit and can bowl some overs to keep the balance of the side.
On the bowling front, there is Arshdeep Singh, who is a good left-arm option. He bowls well with both the new as well as old ball. But let’s not start expecting that Arshdeep is going to win you every game. Let’s give him more opportunities to get better. That will give you rewards as a team. That is exactly what the selectors ought to do: back the players to the tilt and they will look after the team, one or two years down the line. Back Umran Malik, because he is also someone special. He has pace. He might not be in his best form but back him because he could turn out to be very special down the line. Back Avesh Khan, because he certainly could be taking care of Indian cricket five years down the line.
In spin bowling, you have Ravi Bishnoi, who is a wrist-spinner like Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav but he brings something different to the pitch. Ravi bowls a lot of googlies, bowls a little flatter. He is a slightly different option to Chahal and Kuldeep.
The focus should be to generate a point of difference. I like that India is putting faith in such talents. But there is also a little worry in how they are trying out these cricketers. They keep chopping and changing. These guys, on the other hand, need a consistent run. These cricketers need backing, a chance to succeed rather than constant swapping and changing. I am fine with experiments but selector’s role is backing talent (they trust in) and giving extended runs so that they can really flourish in years to come.
I don’t think the aim should be to win the next 20 matches with this young T20 side. The aim should be to build a team for the future. The aim should be to back your chosen talented players consistently to see them succeed.
Can Windies pull things back and upset the young Indian side?
As far as the West Indies are concerned, they have a number of players who have been around for a while now. Rovman Powell, Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder. They have a group of highly talented younger players as well. Despite that, West Indies have struggled across formats. Windies would want someone like Pooran, who I think is one of the most gifted players in the world, to lead from the front. Kyle Mayers is another big player, who had a good IPL 2023.
There are many players in this Windies squad who get a lot of respect from the Indian dressing room. There is no dearth of T20 talent in West Indies.
It is about time these gifted and capable players held West Indies cricket together and got it back to their days of strength. Some of the senior players have got the ability to do pull things back and have the younger players around them to do help them do so. Particularly in this format, West Indies can turn things around. In this format, it takes a moment of genius to win the match. If they play to their potential, this West Indies side can upset this very young Indian team, which is trying to rebuild. This is a chance for West Indies to put up a kind of performance that can give them some sort of confidence and motivation moving forward.
