World Cup chances slim if KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer don’t make it to Asia Cup | Cricket News
With only 54 days left for the World Cup and India beginning to sweat over their squad combination, it is understood that in case KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer don’t make it to the Asia Cup, their chances of making the cut for the World Cup become slim. There are concerns about the game time and form of the two first-choice middle-order batsmen.
The hosts are seeking to end their ICC title drought with only the Asia Cup and three ODIs against Australia left before the World Cup.
Since the start of the year, India have not been able to field their full-strength squad as four of their first-choice players – Rahul, Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna – have been out injured with all having undergone surgery in recent months.
India were looking at the Asia Cup to field their actual World Cup squad but with the continental event set to begin on August 30, the fitness of Rahul and Iyer is forcing the team management to try out other options.
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, who travelled to the Caribbean, returns to India on Friday and will hold discussions with the rest of the selectors in the next 48 hours to decide the way forward.
While Bumrah and Krishna have recovered and will play the T20Is in Ireland, it is understood that Rahul and Iyer are yet to recover fully and are racing against time. As a result, India are delaying the Asia Cup squad announcement for the time being.
In the coming days Rahul is lined up to play a couple of practice matches and there are indications that he would undergo a fitness test on August 18, following which the selectors and team management will take a final call for his inclusion for Asia Cup.
Although there is still a strong possibility that Rahul clears the fitness test, there is a cloud of uncertainty around Iyer, who underwent surgery for a back injury. Having owned the No 4 position before he picked up the injury, India have been pinning on him to lend stability in the middle-order which they have been lacking in the last two 50-over World Cups.
Injuries to KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer have forced the Indian think tank to look out for a batter who may be able to play even a few of the many roles Yuvraj played for India the last time they won a World Cup at home. (File)
No 4 conundrum
In case Rahul doesn’t recover, India are heading towards similar territory where they will be forced to search for a new No.4 with Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson being looked at as alternate options. India’s experiments with Surykumar Yadav for the position have all but ended following his string of low scores in the format.
India are keeping their fingers crossed regarding Rahul as in case he clears the fitness test, it will solve at least one of their bigger problems. If not they will be in for a major rejig for one of Ishan Kishan or Samson have to come in as wicketkeepers.
If it is Kishan, then India may have to tinker with their batting order as well. Primarily an opener, the lowest he has batted in the 17 ODIs is at No 4, where his numbers are far from encouraging as he averages 22.75 in 6 matches. The three ODIs in the West Indies was the first time Kishan got a chance to open in three successive innings since making a 210 against Bangladesh and he responded scoring three successive fifties.
If Rahul doesn’t make the Asia Cup, then it would be interesting to see how India go about the situation. One option is to bring Samson into the XI and play him at No 4 or 5 with one of Varma or Suryakumar Yadav being the other middle-order batsman. The other option that India are contemplating is to let Kishan open with Shubman Gill and make skipper Rohit Sharma bat at No 4. Such a rejig at the eleventh hour could lead to an unsettled batting order and might also not bring the best out of the skipper, who alongside Virat Kohli is the only bankable batsman who could bat through the full 50 overs.
If Rahul regains fitness and is included for the Asia Cup, it will save India of this headache as they can then even bring in a novice like Varma, who virtue of being a left-hander will also lend balance and seems to be in good form. Although he hasn’t played an ODI yet, such is the desperation that the team management is keeping the option open.
While Suryakumar is also a candidate should both Rahul and Iyer be ruled out, he is yet to repose the faith shown the team management, which is now looking to make him bat at No 6 or 7 to maximise his resources. If that is the case, then India have to push Hardik Pandya up the order to No 5 and hope Suryakumar makes the sort of impact India want him to at No 6 or 7 as a finisher.
With so many uncertainties around and should Rahul and Iyer be unavailable for Asia Cup, instead of using the tournament to fine-tune their tactics and combinations, India will be forced to continue with their experiments. The next one week holds the answer to all of India’s unsolved questions.
