While most of Team India’s questions regarding their combination for the upcoming T20 World Cup will be answered at the Asia Cup that takes place later this month, some of them might get addressed in the tour of Zimbabwe that begins in a couple of days’ time.
And the squad that the national selection panel has picked for the trip to the southern African nation that the Men in Blue have not visited in six years isn’t exactly one that would fit the ‘second string’ description.
The team that had toured Zimbabwe in 2016 was essentially an India A side, except for the fact that it was led by none other than ‘Captain Cool’ MS Dhoni himself. Several players, including KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal, made their India debuts in that tour.
This time Rahul returns to Zimbabwe not only as a senior member of the team and a first-choice option at the top of the order, but is also the captain of this outfit with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and other seniors headed to the Gulf for the Asia Cup.
Rahul’s accompanied by Shikhar Dhawan, who was originally assigned to lead the Indian contingent in Zimbabwe, as well as several other first-team players such as Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar among others.
The tour, however, is a lot shorter this time around, with the Men in Blue scheduled to play just three ODIs as compared to the three ODIs and as many T20Is that was part of their itinerary six summers ago. Which means not many members of the 16-member squad will get an opportunity at Harare over the five-day period in which the three games will take place.
And the one department that is especially crowded is the top order; Rahul and Dhawan are the first-choice openers anyway and will be expected to fulfil those roles in the first two games if India opt to play it safe and go for the kill with the aim of clinching the series early on.
If experimentation is the name of the game for the Men in Blue, skipper Rahul might just end up shuffling down the order to either one-down or the No 4 slot, leaving Dhawan to open alongside either of Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad or Ishan Kishan.
Whether considered for the opener’s slot or lower down the order, the one individual who will have it tough getting game time in the upcoming series will be Kishan, who was in sparkling form in the home T20I series against South Africa right after the IPL but has tapered off since then.
Kishan normally would be considered for the opener’s slot, given he batted at that position for Mumbai Indians throughout IPL 2022 as well as in each opportunity that he got with the Indian team since then.
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The Patna lad was in prime form during the South Africa T20Is, topping the run charts with 206 runs at an average of 41.20 with two half-centuries to his name, striking at 150. However, his form has declined sharply since then, starting with the Ireland tour where he underwhelmed in both games — collecting just 29 runs across two games. The same series in which Deepak Hooda proved handy both as an opener (47 not out off 29) as well as a No 3 option (104 off 57). Sanju Samson too pushed himself up the pecking order with a blazing 77 in the second game. And both Hooda and Samson will be competing with Kishan for slots in the upcoming series.
Kishan’s form further declined in the England T20Is, where he was dropped from the XI after getting dismissed for 8 in the series opener, with fellow wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant filling in as Rohit’s opening partner. Despite being part of the squad, he wasn’t considered for the ODIs.
Kishan's gradual slide
The southpaw had a similar experience in the Caribbean, where he ended up playing just one game throughout the tour comprising three ODIs and five T20Is, despite being part of both squads. This time it was Suryakumar Yadav partnering Rohit at the top, the former highlighting his skills as an opener after having impressed in various other positions.
Kishan got an opportunity at the very end of the tour of the Caribbean and the United States, only after skipper Rohit decided to rest himself, and his dismissal for 11 in that game might have proved the tipping point as far as the patience of the team leadership and that of the selectors’ was concerned.
India’s squad for the Asia Cup was announced soon after, Kishan’s name missing from the list. Quite the fall for an individual who had broken into the top 10 in the ICC T20 batting rankings not too long ago.
“I feel that what selectors do is fair. They put a lot of thought while selecting players as to who should be given the opportunity and where. It is a positive for me because if I am not selected, I will work harder and score more runs. When selectors will have confidence in me, they will obviously keep me in the team,” Kishan said after India’s Asia Cup squad was announced.
While unlikely to get game time at the Harare Sports Club that will host all the games in the Zimbabwe series, and relegated to having to watch the Asia Cup from the comfort of his home, Kishan will perhaps be hoping he remains in the selectors’ radar and somehow lands an opportunity in the home assignments after Asia Cup.
India, after all, face Australia and South Africa at home, both T20I assignments, after the Asia Cup, and they will be hoping to add the finishing touches to their T20 World Cup plan in those games. Should he get picked yet again, those games could be a final opportunity for Kishan to retain his place in the squad before he gets axed for good.
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