Team India have most bases covered in their build-up to the T20 World Cup defence. If skipper Suryakumar Yadav regains his form and rhythm in the upcoming T20Is against New Zealand, the champions will have even fewer reasons to worry.

What might make the team management think a bit harder though is the bowling combination for the World Cup, as India begin their campaign against the US in Mumbai on February 7.

A bilateral series or even a multi-team tournament like the Asia Cup may not always expose chinks in the armour, but the pressure of a World Cup is entirely different. India are aware of that and would want to tick off all the necessary boxes in time.

The group phase won’t be too much of a headache for the side — almost all of their opponents are Associate nations and Pakistan have been a largely inconsistent and faltering unit. It is during the Super-Eight stage of the T20 World Cup, where Australia and South Africa are expected to be among India’s opponents, that the defending champions need to be diligent with their bowling attack.

To talk about the pace group first, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh will, in all likelihood, be the specialist quicks with all-rounder Hardik Pandya performing the third pacer’s role. Shivam Dube, too, is another seaming all-rounder option India can avail of.

Among the spinners, all-rounder Axar Patel’s role of a floater in the batting order makes him an automatic choice in the XI. It’s the case of the specialist spinners where India may need to put on their thinking caps.

If the recent home T20Is against South Africa are an indication, Varun Chakravarthy, who featured in all the four matches played, is set to be another automatic
choice among the tweakers. Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav made just one appearance in the series, in the third T20I in Dharamsala. Besides, Varun has been a prolific wicket-taker for India since his international comeback last year.

So, does that mean Kuldeep may have to sit out in most of the matches? “Since these are home conditions for India, going in with three spinners (Axar, Varun and Kuldeep) cannot be ruled out.

“Alongside the nature of the pitch, you also need to consider the kind of batsmen, the number of left-handers and other related stuff in the opposition ranks. If that allows you to go in with both Varun and Kuldeep, you can jolly well pick both of them,” a former national selector told The Telegraph on Tuesday.

Also, including both Varun and Kuldeep in the XI would mean a longer tail. “If the pitch is on the slower side, selecting both Varun and Kuldeep in the XI won’t be a bad call. And, talking about the aspect of a long tail with both playing, I don’t think one should worry much about that as it’s a T20 game... Could’ve been a factor if it was a 50-over clash,” another former selector, Gagan Khoda, pointed out.

On the slow, sluggish pitches in Dubai during this year’s Asia Cup, Varun and Suryakumar Yadav both played together, which certainly helped India strike consistently at critical junctures in their triumphant campaign. But again, the conditions will vary at the World Cup and so will the kind of opposition as the showpiece tournament progresses.