4 Options India should have explored after their injury crisis

India maintained their perfect start at the Asia Cup with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over their arch-rivals, Pakistan.

Though the victory rejoiced across the country, it came at a cost with Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya injuring themselves during the course of the match.

Pandya collapsed while bowling his fifth over and sent shockwaves throughout the country. Ever since his debut, Pandya has lent balance to the Indian team and has performed admirably in limited-overs cricket.

Thus, his untimely injury is a huge cause of concern. The think-tank would hope he can recover in time for the series Down Under.

Axar, on the other hand, has always been on the fringes of the Indian team. Hence, his absence would not have as enormous an impact as Pandya’s departure.

The third injury concern flared up when Shardul Thakur was ruled out. Thakur played the game against Hong Kong and was looked upon as a back-up to Bumrah and Bhuvaneshwar.

With the aforementioned players out of the picture, the selectors named Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar and Siddharth Kaul as replacements.

Though Chahar and Kaul have been on the periphery recently, Jadeja makes his comeback after quite a while.

However, the Indian think-tank could have gone in for some different players who have been in a rich vein of form and warrant a time in the sun. Through the course of this article, we would look at three other options India should have explored to solve their injury conundrum.

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#4 Krishnappa Gowtham

Gowtham's inclusion would have been a gamble but a gamble worth taking

Gowtham shot into the limelight with a stellar Ranji Trophy season for Karnataka in 2017-18. His performances didn’t go unnoticed and the Rajasthan Royals coughed up 6.2 Cr for his services at the 2018 IPL Auction.

He performed well for Rajasthan and provided the team with impetus towards the end of the innings.

Gowtham has the ability to clear the boundary at will and represents a decent option as a lower order dasher.

Additionally, he is very good with the ball. His confidence with the new ball provides a different avenue to the team and makes him a versatile option.

Gowtham has been doing well on his escapades for the India A side with bat and bowl. With an injury to the reserve all-rounder, Axar Patel, Gowtham could have been thrown into the mix to see what the lad from Karnataka is made of.

Though Gowtham hasn’t been as consistent as he would’ve have liked, his game has a certain X-Factor. An X-Factor which won Rajasthan Royals games from improbable situations and one that every team would like to have.

With the selectors not including him, it could again be a case of them not throwing the right players into the mix at the right time.

#3 Shahbaz Nadeem

Nadeem was again ignored by the selectors

Shahbaz Nadeem has been a consistent performer for Jharkhand in the domestic circuit over the past few years. A left arm spinner by trade, Nadeem specialises in keeping things tight and building pressure.

Nadeem is a classic limited-overs bowler and is impeccable with his line and length. He has accumulated 124 wickets in 87 List A games at a miserly economy rate of 4.26.

Additionally, the spinner from Jharkhand has been performing well recently and deserves a chance before the squad for the World Cup is chalked out.

Nadeem was part of the India A side that toured England and displayed mental toughness in performing well on the unfriendly tracks in England.

More recently, he picked up the best ever List A bowling figures against Rajasthan when he ended with eight wickets from his 10 overs, while giving away only 10 runs.

With the injury to Axar Patel, Nadeem could’ve been the ideal like for like alternative. Though Jadeja has been highly influential in Tests, his limited overs record since being dropped leaves a lot to be desired.

Thus, the selectors might have missed a trick in not going in for a limited-overs specialist in Nadeem.

#2 Mohammed Siraj

Siraj has been in red-hot form

Mohammad Siraj has been on fire in the domestic circuit over the past few months. He was part of India A squad that participated in the quadrangular series and displayed immense skill. In the IPL as well, he was a bright spot in RCB’s listless bowling attack.

Siraj is deceptively quick and gets the ball to move late. In addition to this, he is superb at the death and can hit yorkers with remarkable efficiency. At 24 years of age, he represents the future of India’s fast bowling.

Siraj has played three T20Is for India. However, he hasn’t made his bow in ODIs yet. With the injury to Thakur, many believed that he was destined to fly to the UAE instead of Siddharth Kaul.

The 24-year-old has been in red-hot form and has terrorised every batting line-up he has come up against. Thus, the time was right to draft him into the reckoning. However, the selectors went in for the tried and tested option in Kaul.

Though Kaul is not a bad bowler, the platform was set for Siraj to be given his due for his dazzling domestic performances.

However, with Kaul set to fly to the UAE, the selectors have missed another opportunity to blood a young, encouraging fast bowling talent.

#1 Krunal Pandya

Krunal could have been a better fit than Jadeja

Not many people knew Krunal Pandya when he was snapped up by the Mumbai Indians for a huge fee.

However, a few years on, the man from Baroda has become an indispensable part of every team he has played for.

Krunal is a hard-hitting all-rounder who can bat in the middle order. Krunal possesses a vast array of shots and has bludgeoned bowling attacks in the domestic circuit. He is a very sound bowler as well and stifles the opposition with his accuracy.

With the World Cup around the corner, India need to look at genuine all-rounders who can come up with the goods when required.

Krunal fits the bill perfectly and should have been included as a replacement for Axar Patel. While Axar is a better bowler, Krunal is much more adept at wielding the willow.

It could have been an interesting option to boast of going forward. However, the selectors decided to look the other way and call up Jadeja instead.

Jadeja could yet play a vital role in India’s Asia Cup defence but with time running out, the selectors could just have failed to explore a viable option.