In the world of T20s, specialist bowlers are basically second-class citizens. Unless you command an undroppable reputation, like say Jasprit Bumrah, you will often find yourself shortchanged, just like Kuldeep Yadav, because the format treats all-rounders like royalty, like Washington Sundar, Team India’s latest obsession.
India’s Super Eight match against Zimbabwe here on Thursday is more than a must-win game. Though the day’s afternoon match, between South Africa and the West Indies in Ahmedabad, will distil the equations further, it’s safe to say that India will have to simply trample Zimbabwe in order to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
Despite India wearing an invisible cloak of confidence, it’s extremely important that they get the little things right to gain more than just two points from the game. Team combination is one such issue which needs surgical precision. So does Kuldeep have a chance of popping up in Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav’s plans for Thursday? Chances of that are bleak.
It looks like Sanju Samson is almost certain to return to the XI and Rinku Singh, in all likelihood, will have to make way. Rinku, who had returned home for his father’s illness, is an easy candidate to drop even if he is available. Like his batting position, Rinku comes much lower on the team’s priority list. Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, despite their lean returns of late, are still toppers on that list.
Besides Sanju, Axar Patel is the other player who is set to take the field on Thursday. Dropped in the last game for a weird match-up excuse, the team management will not risk keeping the vice-captain out against Zimbabwe. Whom does he replace? Washington Sundar, logically. But wait, we can’t be that certain because Washington, after all, is an all-rounder. So what if the captain seemed clueless how best to use his match-ups man in the previous game?
Will Arshdeep Singh retain his place? Well, given how Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have performed so far, India can actually afford to keep Arshdeep out. If so,
who will take the left-arm pacer’s place? All-rounder Washington? Or left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep?
Let’s not speculate. Here’s what Sitanshu Kotak, the team’s batting coach, said on Wednesday, during the pre-match media conference.
“It’s difficult to fit in another wrist-spinner... Because in T20s, you want batting till No. 8. So at No. 8, if you are thinking about a spinner, you will obviously think of an all-rounder. Any team will prefer a person who can score 30-40 runs if required. If you are chasing 200-220 and if you are 150/6, you will hope that an all-rounder can get 20 runs and create a partnership. At the end of the day, only 11 can play. You try and keep that balance that the team requires and play the best 11.”
The loss to South Africa showed how India loses the plot when lead spinner Varun Chakravarthy has an off-day. Wouldn’t having Kuldeep as a back-up be advisable?
No, perhaps. Because Kuldeep is guilty of not being an all-rounder. Hence, a second-class citizen.