Return of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer a timely boost but India’s playing 11 lacking balance ahead of World Cup | Cricket News

It has taken them a lot of time, but weeks before the World Cup at home, India are beginning to piece together the pieces of the puzzle that they were desperately missing.
The 17-member squad, to be led Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as his deputy, is a bit short on balance. (File/AP Photo)
After welcoming back Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna into the national set-up for the tour of Ireland, 10 days ahead of the Asia Cup India now have the services of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, two players who will walk into the XI at the World Cup beginning in October. and large, the selectors have stuck to the names who have been extensively involved in the ODI set-up over the last 24 months with Tilak Varma’s selection being the lone exception.
As chairman of the senior selection panel Ajit Agarkar read out the names in New Delhi, it ticked most of the boxes that India have been waiting to check. The 17-member squad, to be led Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as his deputy, is a bit short on balance when it comes to the XI, especially batting depth, but it induces much-needed hope that has been missing over the last few months.
There is an asterisk next to Rahul’s name though. The 31-year-old who is recovered from a thigh injury he sustained during the IPL, has faced a slight setback in his quest to make a comeback as he is nursing a niggle in his groin and is expected to be fully fit only in time for India’s second group stage match against Nepal or for the Super Four stages of the Asia Cup. However, there are no such concerns for Iyer, who last featured in the fourth Test against Australia in March.
A fluid middle-orderThe luxury of picking a 17-member squad for the Asia Cup meant India will use the tournament to prune their final l to 15. Having flirted with different options over the recent few months for the middle-order slot, Rohit can finally field a settled batting unit with the return of Rahul and Shreyas. The duo’s availability means India not only know the composition of their top six but also leaves the top three of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli untouched. With Shreyas, Rahul and all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja to follow, India’s middle order will be much more fluid in terms of promotion and demotion depending on the conditions and bowlers in operation.

Although Shreyas seems to be the designated No 4, beyond Kohli India will be much more adventurous in using their resources. “It is about the top three, and then from there onwards, four, five, six and seven can get the job done. It is about the entire batting unit. Of course, having said that you want to get the best out of players in certain positions, but all seven-eight numbers are open to anyone. Flexibility is required and it doesn’t mean we send an opener at number 7 or send Hardik Pandya as an opener. In the last four-five years, Kohli has batted at number 3. The new guys at number 4, number 5 players need to be flexible. Even in my career…we all have done that. That’s the flexibility I am talking about,” Rohit said.
With the top six seems locked, outside of these India have Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. It is understood that there were a lot of discussions around Suryakumar’s place, but the selectors have decided to hand him another opportunity to see if he can do well at No 6 or 7. While the inclusion of Varma, who is yet to feature in the format, does come as a surprise, India are also aware they don’t have a left-handed batsmen in the middle order.
With most teams having wr spinners in their line-up, India’s team management feels a left-hander is needed to offer variety. In the past, both Shreyas and Rahul have shown signs of being pinned down when spinners, who take the ball away from them, are bowling in tandem, and hence a left-hander to break the shackles is seen as a value-added asset.

Although India are tempted to use Axar Patel, a batsman who is known to be better against spinners and can even play aggressive cameos, Ravindra Jadeja’s presence means the chances of both of them finding a space in the XI are slim. While Rohit did mention that India couldn’t look past Axar because of his performance over the past 12 months, if they fail to break the combination deadlock, it is understood that there will be space for a change in the World Cup squad.
Bite in the attackFive seam bowling options to go with Hardik Pandya does raise a few eyebrows, especially given the conditions on offer at the Asia Cup as well as World Cup. But The Indian Express understands that among the five — Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Bumrah and Prasidh – only four will make it to the World Cup. With Bumrah and Krishna returning after a long lay-off and given the nature of the injuries they sustained, it is understood that India will have a workload mechanism in place as they want their pacers to be fresh for the World Cup.Most Read
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Unlike the batting unit, the selectors will have a tough time culling the pace-bowling unit. If they drop Thakur, it would deprive the team of having depth in the batting order, something skipper Rohit is not keen on compromising. Prasidh is seen as a reliable option to operate in the middle-overs and will also allow Rohit to save Bumrah for the final stages. Both Siraj and Shami are known to be wicket-taking options with the new ball, but there is a strong possibility that only one of them might end up making it to the World Cup.
Jadeja vs AxarKuldeep Yadav and two all-rounders Jadeja and Axar complete the spin department. With Kuldeep being a sure shot in the XI, it could eventually come down to Jadeja vs Axar. And if that is the case, India will have one more issue to solve as it will leave them with a long tail unless Thakur is one of their seam-bowling options. It is learnt that having depth in the batting order was a topic of hot discussion during the selection meeting on Monday and the team management even cited the recent T20Is against West Indies to drive home the point.
Kuldeep Yadav and two all-rounders Jadeja and Axar complete the spin department. (AP)
As a result, the selectors are understood to have thrown the names of R Ashwin and Washington Sundar into the pool, but the need to take five pacers to Sri Lanka meant neither of the off-spinners made it to the squad. The Indian team management believes having batting depth till No 9 will allow the middle order to take more risks in the middle-order, particularly if they choose to be more flexible. If not, it will force India to have a fixed template in the batting order, which will make them easy to decode.