Asia Cup 2022: Steady Indian batting unit ready to battle for continental supremacy – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

The dress rehearsal for the T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place later this year, begins for India as the side commences the Asia Cup 2022 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday in Dubai.

The two teams are back to a territory that witnessed history being re-written and the records going for a toss. The last time when India and Pakistan played each other was also at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India’s winning streak against the neighbours in World Cup fixtures was broken here. Pakistan thumped Men in Blue by 10 wickets in the 2021 T20 World Cup.

A lot changed in the Indian camp, post that tournament. Rohit Sharma is now the Indian skipper, Rahul Dravid is the head coach (Though, he hasn’t travelled with the team to UAE after testing positive for COVID-19 and will only join the side when he tests negative). Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant have given captaincy auditions, and quite evidently an aggressive approach has taken the front seat as far as batting is concerned.

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But the real test starts now.

The Rohit-led side will be up against a challenge, not just on the field but off it too. A poor result here and there would attract criticism which the side certainly wouldn’t want considering the mega ICC event is lined up in October-November.

An Indian batting unit is always a star-studded one and it’s the same for this edition of the Asia Cup as well. The likes of Rohit and Virat Kohli are back in the line-up. KL Rahul made a comeback to the XI in the Zimbabwe series after a long injury layoff and is fit to play now.

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Players like Hardik, Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh and Ravindra Jadeja can turn the match on its head on their day while Deepak Hooda has already marked his presence in a very short span of time at the highest level.

So, before the Indian team begins the tournament, we take a look at the pros and cons of this immensely talented and stable batting unit.

Opening duo!

Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul don’t need an introduction. Each and every bowling department understands how dangerous this pair can be once they get into the groove and find the rhythm.

A war of words had started when Pakistan bowler Shaheen Afridi was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury. The left-arm pacer had rattled India’s top-order during the last outing in the T20 world Cup 2021. His three scalps included the dismissals of India’s top three, Rohit, KL and Kohli.

It’s believed that absence of Shaheen Afridi has let India’s top three breathe easy. Well, not to deny, they have faced issues against the left-arm pacers but no one can really write them off.

Recently, on his trip to the Caribbean islands, the Indian captain did face disappointment on one occasion when he was undone for a first-ball zero but not to forget he scored 16-ball 33 and a 64 off 44 deliveries as well, the knocks decorated with some fine pulls, hooks and drives.

Sharma’s deputy Rahul didn’t really have a great run on his return to the Indian side as he could only manage 1 and 30 in two innings during the ODI series against Zimbabwe. But a batter of his caliber doesn’t really need much time to fine tune himself and get back on track.

Even if Rahul takes his time to settle in, Rohit can perform the task of getting runs at a brisk pace, especially in the first six overs of the innings.

Virat Kohli’s form- A real concern?

Former India captain Virat Kohli has been out of touch and hasn’t been scoring runs for quite some time now. The right-hander struggled in England on the last tour when he didn’t cross the 20-run mark even once in the four limited-overs games that he featured in.

Having said that, the amount of experience that Kohli brings to the table is impeccable. He was in fact the highest scorer in the Indian camp when the side last met Pakistan. Kohli struck 57 in 49 balls.

The good part about his own batting is that he works on the glitches quickly and has the ability to turn fortunes around himself (Just like he did in England once).

To add to this, someone who has had that long career at the highest level would have a way better understanding of his game than anyone else.

“..As long as I’m ticking those boxes, I know there are ups and downs, and when I come out of this phase, I know how consistent I can be. My experiences are sacred to me. Whatever I have experienced in this phase or in the past, as well one thing that I can vouch for, is that I have never valued myself more as a person,” he said while speaking on Star Sports’ show Gameplan.

It’s now up to the team management on how they use this exceptional batter. Kohli can be someone who can stick around while the others chip in with quick runs and once he gets settled in, the right-handed batter can catch up with the pace.

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Who makes it to the XI?

India have created such a strong bench strength that there are multiple options for every spot. Now with Rohit, KL and Kohli in the top three for India, the think tank will have to ask either Suryakumar Yadav or Deepak Hooda to bat at four.

Now, the cause of concern is, whom to pick between the two as you also have Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik for fifth and sixth spot and Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin for the seventh.

Out of these, Hardik and Pant are certain for the final XI as Pandya can also chip in with three or four overs. Moreover, he has been pretty good in the powerplay which makes him an obvious pick.

Pant, on the other hand, is the first-choice wicket-keeper. Apart from this, the left-handed batter is a brilliant striker of the ball and can push the pedal to the metal as and when required.

In all, it would be Hardik and Pant who will take the fifth or sixth positions or vice-versa in the first place.

Coming back to the fourth spot, both Suryakumar Yadav and Hooda have shown that they have the ability to bat in any given position and can also provide resistance when needed. But SKY can still edge Hooda as he has a bit more experience at the international level.

SKY’s “360 degrees” game just adds to his chances of being in playing XI.

This batting line-up chat also brings us to a very interesting discussion and that is whom to play between Jadeja and Ashwin if we get four front bowlers in the XI.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal would be the first-choice bowlers while the team management can’t leave Arshdeep Singh out because, firstly the way he has capitalized on the opportunities he has got, and secondly, he is a left-handed pacer who can bowl economical spells in the powerplay and death overs and bowls some superb yorkers too. The last position left will most likely be taken by Avesh Khan.

The fight now is for the seventh spot. While Ashwin is a thinking bowler, Jadeja has shown his abilities with the bat too and is a gun fielder, irrespective of the position that he is fielding at.

Overall, the batting line-up of this Indian team seems to be a perfect and steady one with like-for-like replacements available for almost every position. It would be interesting to see how the coaching staff uses the services of the players.

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