Unlike IPL, bowlers to call shots in T20 World Cup?
Bengaluru, May 28
Put through the wringer in the IPL, can bowlers hope to breathe a bit easy in the T20 World Cup next month?
India are strongest side: Morgan
London: India’s remarkable reservoir of talent and formidable depth within their squad makes them strong contenders to win the upcoming T20 World Cup, feels former England skipper Eoin Morgan. India have gone with almost the same squad as they had in the last edition while adding the likes of young Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yuzvendra Chahal and Sanju Samson. “The strongest side even with injuries throughout the tournament is India. Their strength and depth is absolutely incredible,” Morgan said. “We’re talking about who the players that were missed out in their squad of 15 because of the quality that they possess. They are the favourites for me, the quality they have on paper, if they produce it I think they can beat anybody,” he added. pti
The genesis of this question lies in the transformation that T20 batting underwent in the latest edition of the IPL.
The 250-run mark was breached only once in the league till this season, but teams went past that point eight times in the just-concluded edition.
Many of the batters who led that revolution, such as Australian Travis Head and West Indian Andre Russell, will be seen in action in the ICC showpiece in the Americas next month.
So, it’s quite natural for fans to expect another batting waltz. But their approach cannot be as one-dimensional in the World Cup as it was in the IPL for a variety of reasons.
To begin with, teams will not have the luxury of an Impact Player in the World Cup. So, they will have to be ready to switch to an attritional style of cricket as and when the situation demands.
Mitchell Starc underlined that point after playing a big role in guiding Kolkata Knight Riders to their third IPL title.
“There is an Impact Player Rule here (in IPL) and not in the T20 World Cup. You are going to rely more on your all-rounders. You cannot put your batting all-rounder at No. 8, like you did in the IPL. I don’t think that you’ll see these kind of high scores in the T20 World Cup, purely because there will be one batter less,” said Starc.
In the earlier part of the IPL, Chennai Super Kings used Shivam Dube, a pace bowling all-rounder, exclusively as a batter through the Impact Player rule, though he usually walked in at No. 4 or 5 in place of a bowler.
Dube produced a couple of match-winning knocks against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and KKR.
But in the World Cup, the left-hander will have to showcase his bowling skills too to get a slot in the playing XI as vice-captain Hardik Pandya plays a similar role and remains the first choice.
The batters will also have to negate pitches that will be very different from the ones they got used to in the IPL.
“The West Indian pitches are no longer what they used to be in the 1980s or 1990s. They are now slower, and at times gripping,” a veteran curator said. “I am sure the bowlers, particularly spinners, will have much more say there, especially from the second week of the tournament. India have included four spinners in their squad. It was maybe because of the nature of the pitches in the West Indies.”
