Indian team selection has two key issues. The first question is whether they should drop Axar Patel or Yuzvendra Chahal for Ravichandran Ashwin against an LHB-heavy middle order. It's odd that all the focus is on Axar Patel when dropping Yuzvendra Chahal is not inconceivable. With Pant out of the team and Jadeja out of the tournament, Axar is not only India's lone spin bowling all-rounder, but also the only left-handed option in the top 7. This significantly improves the chances of the 28-year-old playing all games in the tournament regardless of performance.And given the squad's limitations, India should be comfortable fielding unorthodox combinations like Axar at 7, Harshal at 8, and Ashwin at 9 against certain teams. They could take advantage of their batting depth to compensate for a lack of other primary skill sets.The other big selection dispute involves Arshdeep Singh. Based on performance, the left-arm pacer should be the first bowler on the Indian squad sheet. Arshdeep has not just the best strike rate (14.5), but also the most wickets per match (1.46) and overs bowled per match numbers (3.55) since 2021. With the 23-year-old's continued progress, he has also most likely risen in the pecking order from where he was prior to the Asia Cup.It is true that Mohammed Shami or Mohammed Siraj will be an important addition to the Indian pace bowling unit at the moment, with the bowling conditions in Australia and the squad's severe lack of speed. However, the switch is more likely to come at the expense of Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Harshal Patel.The rain-shortened game against Australia at Nagpur also provided a hint, as when the team was forced to drop a bowler for an extra batter, Bhuvnneshwar Kumar was the one who was left out. The match had Bumrah, a bigger name than Arshdeep for the two to contend with, but it did show that Bhuvneshwar is more droppable now.In addition, Harshal Patel's case has also weakened lately. Since 2021, his economy rate (9.2) has been the highest among all Indian bowlers in the squad. However, one benefit he has over Bhuvneshwar is the added batting value, which India may regard as vital considering how aggressively they bat.
Team Rating – 6.1/10
There are no two ways about it: the Indian team has a slew of issues.
Not enough speed and back-of-length bowling ability in the bowling unit
There are no left-handers in the top 5
It is packed with bowlers that prefer to bowl to right-handers rather than left-handers.
They won't be able to tackle the first problem no matter who they bring in, Mohammed Shami or Mohammed Siraj. If their rating is currently 0, it will grow to 0.3, and if it is already 0.3, it will only increase to 0.5. To win the World Cup, their other units will need to fill the void and handle the extra burden, such as chasing or setting an extra 10-15 runs.There is, however, some hope for Nos. 2 and 3. There are two main reasons to start left-handed batters:
To hit slow left-arm orthodox and legspinners out of the attack
To target short square boundaries efficiently and avoid being locked out of them at all costs.
To address the first point, left-arm orthodox spinners in Australia will not receive as much assistance as they would in the UAE, Bangladesh, or even India. It's the same with legspinners; just look at way D'arcy Short, Josh Phillipe, and Matthew Wade handle Rashid Khan in Australia. The true nature of Australian decks promotes shot making against spinners.Regarding the second, with the exception of Hobart and to a lesser extent, Brisbane, Australia's square boundaries are generally even.Bowling to left-handers: As the matchup section shows, the entire Indian bowling team prefers right-handers. This is acceptable against Australia or Pakistan, but not against South Africa or England, both of which have three left-handed batters in their top six. But India - on their bench - have an option to address this issue: Ravichandran Ashwin.If they make that change, their existing rating of 6.1 will at the very least rise to 6.6.
Rating Scale Explainer
BATTINGBatting Quality - A match-winner each in the top (No.1-2), middle (No.3-4) and lower-middle order (No.5-7) Batting Depth - A minimum of 8 batting options Complementary openers - Opening pair to be complemented by both hand and type Spin Hitting - Exceptional hitting ability vs spin in the middle order (No.3-5) Pace Hitting - Exceptional hitting ability vs pace by lower middle order (No.5-7) BOWLINGNew ball Pace - At least 20 balls of quality seam and swing bowling ability up front Express Pace and HTD - At least 20 hit-the-deck balls at 140+kph between Overs 7 and 16 Death Bowling - A well-balanced blend of yorkers, slow balls, and hard length at a pace ranging from 17 to 20 overs. Bowling Depth - At least six 4-over options Spin (Quality & Complementary) - Both away-spin (SLA/wrist-spin) and in-spin (off-spin); Quality - Self explanatory
Squad Home
Records from the last three years are not as useful as most people believe, so I like breaking them down into three individual years to assess how a player has performed/progressed - whether his average of 40, for example, is the result of one spectacular year or two good years, and so on. This is why we went into such great detail here.The "in Australia" category is self-explanatory. The World Cup is being held in Australia, which has very different conditions than the rest of the world. As a result, a player's record in the country offers substantial value in helping you understand more about the individual.Form - Based on player performance in the 10 games leading up to the World Cup.
Fantasy Board
Hardik Pandya takes the No. 1 spot because of the all-round value he provides and the favourable conditions for his bowling style. The large square boundaries in Australia will result in hitters routinely holing out in the deep.Rohit Sharma is too aggressive for fantasy purposes, KL Rahul is still adjusting to T20, and even in familiar conditions, Suryakumar Yadav faces the fewest balls among the top four, and he will be playing in unknown conditions this time. The Indian bowling team is average, with every bowler's spot uncertain.All of this certainly puts Virat Kohli, the Indian batter who has had the most success in T20Is in Australia and also the most suited to the conditions in terms of skill set, the second-best fantasy choice. The lack of support for spinners will make it easier for him to succeed, and he also takes the fewest risks compared to the rest of the batting unit, making him appealing from a fantasy standpoint.Top Pick(s): Hardik Pandya, Virat KohliTop Budget Pick(s): Axar Patel, Arshdeep SinghTop Differential(s): Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep SinghSteal(s): Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Fantasy Cheat Sheet
It is simple: if you are not in the world of House of the Dragon, then the colour green is your friend. So whether it's season or daily fantasy, go with the player who has the most greens.All stats since 2021Sheet KeyM - Matches PlayedBF - Balls FacedBFPM - Balls Faced Per MatchRuns - Runs ScoredRSPM - Runs Scored Per MatchBat SR - Batting Strike RateOvers - Overs BowledOBPM - Overs Bowled Per MatchWickets - Wickets TakenWTPM - Wickets Taken Per MatchBowl SR - Bowling Strike RateER - Economy RateC - Catches
Matchups that Matter
3 highlighted bars – good; 2 highlighted bars – average; 1 highlighted bar – poorThis is my favourite part of the whole thing, and you can learn a lot from it. It's a particularly effective tool to have before game day. Here are some observations, for example:
The Indian team clearly prefers to bowl to right-handers.
Bringing in Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami would strengthen the bowling unit against left-handed batters.
There is no exceptional value against away spin.
Other takeaways from dissecting these figures at a deeper level:Against L Pace in Ov 1-4: KL Rahul is the top pick for protecting his wicket, while Suryakumar Yadav is India's best shot for accelerating against the bowling type.Against R Pace in Ov 1-4: Rohit is becoming more adept at accelerating against this sort of bowling, but this obviously comes at the expense of him losing his wicket far more regularly. Rahul’s strike rate against this bowling type has been dismal over the last three years, but when he played T20 with the right intent, he was able to effectively take these bowlers down. He should do better in this event now that he is back in that mood. As with left-arm pace, Suryakumar is India's best chance to accelerate against right-arm pace as well in the powerplay.SLAO: Was one of the top ways to both dismiss and restrict Suryakumar, but he is now showing some improvement against the bowling type. Kohli’s strike rate against SLAO is one of the biggest concerns for India.