After much deliberaton and confusion, India have announced their 15-man squad for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy to be held in England and Wales from June 1. A tried and tested combination of players has been chosen and youngsters have been put on standby for the moment as India look to defend the title they won in 2013.
Keeping the exclusions and omissions aside, if one focuses on the men who have been picked to represent the team, it would be observed that there are several match winners present who can turn the course of the game on their own.
Besides having experienced cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, a young core of Manish Pandey, Jasprit Bumrah and Kedar Jadhav – who is still new to international cricket – is also present.
The seasoned duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja would shoulder the rsponsibilites of spin bowling whereas Bhuvneshwar Kumar would lead the pace battery and he would be supported by Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Shami.
Here’s having a look at 5 potential match-winners for India, in that the players who can win the tournament single-handedly.
#5 Bhuvneshwar Kumar
The 27-year-old fast bowler has, through his recent promising performances – propelled himself to the position of the spearhead of the Indian bowling attack. Having started as an out-and-out swing bowler, Kumar has taken giant strides in limited-overs cricket since the 2015 World Cup and has developed himself into an all-conditons bowler, especially vital at the death.
His ability to execute the yorkers during the death overs and mix them up with seam-up and slower deliveries has been unparalleled amongst the current crop of Indian bowlers While IPL performances do not warrant a place in the side for a 50-over competition, the skill of executing the yorkers remains the same, be it any format, and it is here that Kumar has trumped all of his peers.
With all that added to his arsenal, the pacer hasn’t lost his swing either and is as effective a bowler with the new ball – especially under the English conditons, where the ball swings more – as he is with the old one.
#4 Jasprit Bumrah
While Bumrah is only 23 years of age and his low on experience, the talent that the fast bowler possesses cannot be questioned. Hardly had we ever seen a bowler with just two kinds of deliveries up his arsenal achieve success through the sheer consitency of executing those balls.
The back-of-a-length ball and the yorker, with variations in pace, are only two kinds of deliveries that Bumrah has mastered over the course of his short career, but he has mastered them with a consistency and dedication that’s unparalleled.
If we view and understand what he did in the super over against the Gujarat Lions as an outstanding exhibition of calmness under pressure and view it outside the purview of the IPL, we would understand exactly what Bumrah brings to the table.
With the average scores in limited-overs cricket on an exponential rise on English pitches, players like Bumrah could take the pitch out of the equation by bowling consistently at the base of the stumps and it is here that he can prove out to be a match winner.
#3 Hardik Pandya
India’s all-rounder woes seem to have been neutralised to some extent with the inclusion of Hardik Pandya in the side. The fearless approach that he brings with his batting augurs well with the need of the era, wherein the batsmen have been becoming ball-smacking machines with no concern for the number of overs remaining in the game.
With the decline of Dhoni, the finisher, and the absence of a pinch hitter lower down the order, Pandya seems to be the perfect fit for the side in these circumstances, and if he manages to do what he has been doing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, he might prove out to be the difference maker.
Also, under the seamer-friendly conditions in England, Pandya could also fill in for the role of the third seamer, or the fifth bowler. He might bowl a few overs upfront in the innings in order to allow somebody like Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowl more at the death, while he can also bowl in the middle overs, in case the spinners are having a bad day.
His all-round efforts have not been witnessed at their greatest magnitude yet, but given the kind of touch he is, it would only be a matter of executing his plans under the pressure of playing an ICC tournament. If he manages to do that, he could very well be a match winner.
#2 Rohit Sharma
Arguably India’s best opening batsman in limited-overs cricket, Rohit Sharma returns to the side after a long injury layoff. While the opener might be scratchy and nervous at the beginning of the innings, but it is a well known fact that the opener naturally takes time at the start of an innings.
Thereafter, if and when he gets set, there are only a few other men out there who can put up a show as elegant as the 30-year-old right-handed batsman. It would also do welll to mention here the fact that it was during the last Champions Trophy, in 2013, that he was promoted to the top of the order for the first time.
It would be like life coming a full circle for him as it was since his promotion as an opener that Sharma has changed his personaa as a batsman and has gained the reputation of one of the best limited-overs batsmen in the world.
His opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan, who was the Man of the Series the last time the tournament was organized, would look to find his mojo back and get his partnership going with Sharma, as it has been the case in the past.
#1 Virat Kohli
The Indian captain might not be in the best of forms with the bat at the moment, but the way he has been performing on the international stage of late has been something spectacular. Therefore, his drop in form during the IPL should only be viewed as a monor glitch.
India’s best batsman and their best bet at the crucial No. 3 position would look to make up for the disappointments of the IPL and regain his lost touch during the tournament. Given his record in ICC tournaments – his record in the ICC World T20 2016 for a reference – there is no doubt about his ability to handle the pressure of the big matches.
And considering his penchant for chases, Kohli’s form becomes all the more crucial for India, as they would be heavily reliant on one of their most experienced batsmen. The plan would be to translate the excellent Test form that he has exhibited in the season into limited-overs cricket and put the failures of the IPL behind him.
Also, the aggression that he brings to the team with his captaincy has done wonders for the team. The team has fed off his intent and has rubbed off on players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav who have gained the captain’s confidence and have flourished as cricketers.
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