It's all about the right combination - Predicting the XI for India in World T20

Can India sort out their XI soon?

With the T20 World Cup 2014 all set to start with a bang coming Friday, the Men In Blue as they are fondly referred to by their beloved fans would be hoping to get their team combination right at the earliest.

It doesn’t happen too often that the first match itself is arguably the biggest clash of the tournament, with India facing arch-rivals Pakistan yet again after losing to them in the 50-over clash a couple of weeks back in the Asia Cup.

The venue is same, the atmosphere is same, the expectations are same and so is the hype; what has changed, is the format and the team. India had to go about with a completely young side in the Asia Cup, led by the nation’s biggest sensation Virat Kohli, due to the absence of big names like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni who missed out because of form and fitness issues.

But these 3 experienced giants are back and the brand of cricket they play suits the format perfectly. The mixture of youth and experience is just what is needed in a big world tournament like this one and the Indians should just be feeling that the 15 players they have in the squad should just be perfect to get their hands on the coveted trophy yet again after 7 years.

But as discussed earlier, what’s most important is to get the final 11 right. Let’s analyse and discuss the probable eleven.

Opening combination

A big question is to whether go with the tried and tested duo of Rohit-Dhawan or send Sharma at his more ‘natural’ position in T20s?

India has just one specialist opener in the side in the form of Shikhar Dhawan whose success in the past year has been seen and enjoyed by one and all. The Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper is certain to make it to the final XI, but it has to be seen who he shall be accompanied by at the other end.

Rohit Sharma found a new lease of life last year after 6 years of never ending promises, when he was pushed to the opening slot and ended up forming an excellent pair with Shikhar. Their consistent successes have resulted in hopes if this could be another celebrated opening partnership in the history of Indian cricket like the one formed by the two former legends Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar back in the late 90s.

It is more than likely that the Rohit-Shikhar duo will continue to open for India in this format too. However it’s interesting to see that Rohit has achieved maximum success in the T20 format in the middle order, especially for his IPL franchise Mumbai Indians and probably giving him a role he has been more successful in would be a smarter move than to carry on with his ODI role.

The other 2 possibilities for the opening slot are Ajinkya Rahane and vice-captain Virat Kohli. While the latter is obviously assured to be in the final XI, ‘Jinks’ (as Ajinkya is fondly called) is likely to be playing in the side only if the team goes with 7 specialist batsmen and 4 bowlers combination.

Ajinkya has scored tons of runs as an opener in the domestic format and for his IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals and his street-smart attitude with a solid technique conveys that if he is selected in the side, he should play solely as an opener in this format.

It may not be the best move to play your most dependable batsman Virat Kohli as an opener but if Ajinkya is not in the scheme of things and Rohit is pushed down to the middle order, Virat will be the best choice to play as an opener and accompany his Delhi teammate Shikhar Dhawan.

Middle order

India’s middle order is its strongest card and can hold many permutations and combinations. Throw Rahane in the mix and there emerge new avenues to explore for Dhoni

No.3: For the No.3 slot, we have two candidates – Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli. With the former known primarily for his game finishing abilities batting at No.5 or lower, his IPL record for Chennai Super Kings proves that in the shortest format, he could well be the perfect No.3 to go with.

Raina is someone who gets to the business side of things right from the first ball and that is exactly what is needed in T20. If he starts well and settles down, India could well be very confident of posing big scores whenever he scores.

The other natural choice is Virat Kohli, provided he doesn’t open. He has been a proven No.3 for India in the ODI format and his aggressive mature batting style means that he could play at No.3 even in the T20 format.

No.4: To be honest, anyone except Shikhar Dhawan from India’s quota of specialist batsmen can bat at No.4 for India. But Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are probably the best candidates from the team’s perspective. Virat would be pushed down to No.4 only if Raina bats at No.3 and if Virat opens instead of Rohit, then Rohit could well play at No.4.

However, if Raina is continued to be given a finisher role in the side, then both Rohit and Virat will be covered in the Top 3 slots with swashbuckling all-rounder and the nation’s darling Yuvraj Singh batting at No.4. Though he has won many matches for India in the 50-over format with his all-round skills, he has given quite a lot of memorable performances in the T20 format, with the 6 sixes over against England’s fast bowler Stuart Broad during the inaugural World T20 7 years ago in South Africa still making a billion heartbeats race whenever it is remembered.

No.5: Rohit and Yuvraj could both play at No.5 depending on the batting order of the top 4. Another possible option at this slot is Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni who could smash on any bowler in the world once he has settled at the crease. This scenario likely to happen only if Raina bats at No.6.

No.6 and No.7 (If India plays with seven specialist batsmen): If Ajinkya is in the scheme of things, then it could well happen that Dhoni bats at No.6 and Raina at No.7 or vice-versa.

No.6 and No.7 (If India plays with six specialist batsmen) : However, if Ajinkya doesn’t feature in the eleven and India opt for an extra all rounder/spinner/fast bowler, then it is likely that either Dhoni or Raina will bat at No.6 with Ravindra Jadeja all set to claim the No.7 slot.

Lower order and bowling combination

Can Amit Mishra rise above the duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin?

No.8 and No.9 (If India plays seven specialist batsmen): In this scenario, both the spinning all-rounders Jadeja and Ashwin are likely to grab the No.8 and No.9 positions effectively considering that it is pretty unlikely that all-rounder Stuart Binny will feature in the scheme of things since his medium pace option will prove to be less effective in the spin friendly conditions of Bangladesh.

No.8 and No.9 (If India plays with six specialist batsmen): Here, Ravichandran Ashwin is obviously expected to bat at No.8 with one of the specialist bowlers batting at No.9.

No.9,No.10 and No.11: Considering the tournament is happening in Bangladesh, it would be more effective to go in with 3 specialist spinners in the form of left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and leg-spinner Amit Mishra. However, if the skipper decides to play with 7 specialist batsmen and decides to utilize the spin bowling abilities of Yuvraj (left-arm spin) and Raina (off-spin), then Mishra is clearly going to miss out in the final XI (due to the better batting and fielding abilities of Jadeja and Ashwin).

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known to have a preference of going in with 3 specialist fast bowlers in the shorter formats more often that not, but considering the conditions and going by his latest interview where he spoke about possibly going with just 2 seamers, it would be interesting to see what happens.

Whereas Shami is a natural pick, it remains to be seen whether Varun Aaron has done enough to be selected ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar

While Mohammed Shami is an obvious choice to lead the pace attack, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Aaron would be fighting for the second slot, unless all 3 are included in the line-up. The former has been terribly out of form off late while Varun has the ability to generate some good pace but may also end up generously leaking runs in favour of the opposition if he is having an off day at the office.

But all in all, of the two, I would go in with Varun along with Shami. Mohit Sharma is likely to get a look-in only if India fields a 3 man pace attack with Mohit playing ahead of Bhuvneshwar.

Let’s hope that the skipper and team management does get the right combination and gets back to their winning ways and brings the exciting trophy back home yet again.

My Preferred XI - Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Varun Aaron