T20 World Cup 2022: Can India Win The Trophy?

England is cricket’s birthplace in the literal sense. India is the game’s cultural and commercial heart. (More Cricket News)

But when it comes to limited-overs cricket as we know it today – bright clothing, white ball, night games - Australia is its home. 

In the 1970s, media tycoon Kerry Packer tossed the game’s traditions in a blender. World Series Cricket emerged.
 
‘Big Boys Play at Night’ was one of its slogans. The pun was intentional, especially when Imran Khan strutted around in a t-shirt bearing the declaration. 

So it is fitting that Australia will at last host the T20 World Cup, the biggest prize in the game’s newest and most popular format. 

The tournament has an open look about it. Australia as hosts and defending champs, and New Zealand as the neighbours with a fine spin bowling and fielding unit, will be among the favourites. 

Both teams, along with the likes of South Africa and England, have the physicality that the T20 game demands. 

Here’s one example of the horsepower the variant requires. Grounds are large in Australia. When India last played a T20 series there, in 2020, they hit 20 sixes in three matches. When they played Australia at home recently, India crushed 30 sixes in the same number of matches. 

Of course, such talk won’t bother Rohit Sharma too much. He is a sixer specialist. The Hitman has the highest number of Maximums in T20 Internationals (177 as of September 25). Virat Kohli is at No. 8 in the list with 108. 

In T20 World Cups, which have been played in venues across the world since 2007, Sharma has hit the second highest number of sixes for India (31), after Yuvraj Singh (33). 

India’s hopes rest on their batting. It is perhaps the only department of the team which is looking stable. Sharma aside, India possess Suryakumar Yadav. In his present form, with his 360-degree wherewithal, ‘Sky’ can turn water into wine. Kohli, too, ended his century drought in the Asia Cup and can be expected to play with freedom. Hardik Pandya is one of the smartest batsmen in the game, and with such bat speed that it enables him to get distance or elevation even if he is a bit hurried into a shot. 

Importantly, India have long put behind the mental block of competing on fast and bouncy Australian pitches. Indian won their last two Test series in Australia (2018/19 and 2020/21). In T20 games on Australian soil, India have won seven out 12 games.  
Bowling remains a worry. At the Asia Cup, there was the hope that once Jasprit Bumrah returned to the squad, India would rediscover their growl and bite. However, he was ruled out due to his persistent back injury. 

The BCCI has still not named Bumrah’s replacement. But indications are it could be Mohammed Siraj. He was the Man of the Series against South Africa. A few days ago, Sunil Gavaskar backed giving Siraj the job, especially since Mohammed Shami, the other option, has recently recovered from Covid and has not played a T20 International game since last year’s World Cup. 

There also is the exciting but risky option of trying out Umran Malik. Brett Lee and Wasim Akram have endorsed his inclusion, simply because he has raw pace, something that no batsman enjoys facing. 

There is at least one thing the bowlers have in their favour in Australia, as R Ashwin pointed out. “The boundaries are very close to the 30-yard circle in India. And when you come to Australia, the boundaries are far bigger. Gives a bit of a licence for bowlers to work with,” Ashwin said. 

The injury to Ravindra Jadeja means that India have lost out on a modern allrounder, not to mention their best fielder. Pandya aside, Axar Patel and Deepak Hooda are the only allrounders in the squad. 

As for fielding, India’s standards have been disappointing of late, and fielding coach T Dilip must be a concerned man as the opener against Pakistan, another strong team, draws closer. 

“I think this side is no match to any of the top sides when it comes to fielding,” former coach Ravi Shastri said recently, during the series against Australia. “It means that as a batting side you have to get those 15-20 runs extra, game after game, because if you look around the field, where is brilliance? There is no Jadeja. Where is that X-factor?”  

Shastri, who coached India to the no.1 ranking in Tests and two historic series wins in Australia, vacated the saddle for Rahul Dravid to jump in after last year’s World Cup. Dravid has done a fair job since, with wins in India and also in England. Now he and the team would like to get their hands on the World Cup.