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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s release of the Indian squad for the men's Asia Cup 2023 marked a rare occasion where the captain, coach, and selectors weren't criticized heavily for at least two or three decisions.
The new Ajit Agarkar-led cadre was helped by the return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer and the flexibility to pick 17 players instead of the usual 15. It also did itself a favor by doing a rare press conference to answer all the pertinent questions.
One thing that was not rare, though, was Sanju Samson's absence. He was selected as a back-up for Rahul but with multiple batting options available in the 17, it's unlikely he'd get a whiff. That too, when he has averaged 55.71 in ODIs and is the only Indian to have scored a half-century at No. 4 in 2023.
But his absence was dimmed by Tilak Varma's maiden call-up. A promising 22-year-old from Hyderabad, Tilak was mighty impressive in the last two IPLs and in his debut T20I series against West Indies. But he's yet to play an ODI.
"Well, it (Tilak Varma's selection) actually has not come at Sanju Samson's expense," former selector Saba Karim told Sportskeeda in a chat. "I think they [needed a] strong middle-order left-hander that is why they have kept him as an option."
"That's the way I'm looking at it. And he's got an excellent list-A career. I think he bats with an average of 56, bats in the middle overs. So I think keeping that in mind, they have kept him in the frame," he added.
Indian batters' struggles against left-arm seamers and left-arm spinners ignited this thought of having a left-hander in the middle order a few years ago. Thus, the team gave Rishabh Pant more than ample chances before his tragic accident and experimented by sending Ravindra Jadeja up the order a few times.
Ishan Kishan's role
The other left-hander in the team apart from Tilak and Jadeja is Ishan Kishan. Does Tilak's selection mean India only looks at Kishan as an opening backup? After all, he played at the top of the order with Shubman Gill in all three ODIs against West Indies despite Rohit and Ruturaj Gaikwad being available.
"No he's a wicketkeeper backup," Karim opined. "In case KL is not fit -- and they'll get to know that during the Asia Cup -- then Ishan Kishan comes in as a replacement for KL Rahul and then there's a strong possibility that he may play in the middle order and No. 4 or 5."
Karim is of the opinion that the top order of Rohit, Gill, and Virat Kohli should remain untouched.
What if Rahul and Shreyas fail?
Rahul and Shreyas' return is a massive boost for India. The former made No. 5 his own by scoring 742 runs in 18 matches in the position, averaging 53 with a strike rate of 99.33. His wicketkeeping also provides balance to the team.
As for Shreyas, apart from Samson and Jadeja, India tried half a dozen players at No. 4 to replace him but none came even close to the Kolkata Knight Riders captain's record of 805 runs, including two tons, at an average of 47.35.
But Rahul and Shreyas haven't played any competitive cricket in almost six months and will be up against in-form bowlers fighting for a trophy. If they fail, the selectors might face a dilemma of whether to trust them further and pick them for the World Cup or go with the recently in-form options in Tilak and Samson.
Karim is hopeful that unlike in the previous two T20 World Cups, India will persist with their experienced players this time.
They picked Varun Chakravarthy and Rahul Chahar in the 2021 edition and played Ravichandran Ashwin in 2022, mostly based on IPL form. Yuzvendra Chahal had played most bilaterals in the leadup but was ignored on the big stage.
"It always makes sense to go with established players with short time instead of new players. India has committed this mistake in the past and I hope that similar kind of mistake is not repeated," Karim explained.
After the Asia Cup, India will play three ODIs against Australia and then a few warm-up matches before the World Cup. This should ideally give Shreyas and Rahul ample time to settle but previous selectors have shown a tendency to give last-minute surprises ahead of major tournaments.
Shardul Thakur is not a backup for Hardik Pandya, says Saba Karim
Karim doesn't mind Hardik Pandya being picked as the vice-captain for the World Cup (a clear indication of who is Rohit's heir in the BCCI's eyes). He thinks the all-rounder is "enterprising" and has taken cues from Rohit, Virat, and MS Dhoni but is now trying to carve a niche of his own.
However, Pandya as a player is more important for India at the World Cup. Worryingly similar to how it was when he made his debut, India don't have another batter who can bowl 130-135 kph in the wings.
Shardul Thakur is in the team. He has picked up 14 wickets at a brilliant average of 16.42 in ODIs in 2023 but hasn't done enough with the bat in white-ball cricket to play at Pandya's No. 6 spot.
"I don't think they are looking at Shardul Thakur as a backup for Hardik Pandya," Karim said. "Hardik is more of a batting all-rounder but Shardul is a bowling all-rounder. If he gets into the 11 then they can come in either at number seven or number eight, either before or after Jadeja."
Shardul being the third seamer means that if Pandya is not available, India will either have to pick Axar Patel, who's not muck with the bat but not a Pandya either, or play an extra batter and rely on Thakur and Jadeja to bowl 10 overs each.
No off-spinner, no problem
Playing four seamers will allow India space for just two spinners - Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Even if they take Axar instead of Thakur on spin-friendly wickets, he offers the same thing as Jadeja, and thus less variation in middle overs.
Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, and Washington Sundar were the other options. But playing the first two for a bowling all-rounder would have weakened the batting substantially. Chahal hasn't been at his best in ODIs either while Bishnoi doesn't have much experience in the format. Sundar hasn't even played an ODI in months.
"Once you have a wrist spinner like Kuldeep Yadav, he kind of fills that space [of an off-spinner because he turns the ball into the right-hander]," Karim said. "In the end, you need attacking spinners in the squad who can bowl in the middle overs and pick wickets. Although we do talk about variation, in the end, a left-arm wrist spinner (Kuldeep) and a left-arm finger spinner (Jadeja) give you enough variation."
Karim said a fourth spinner will come into contention for the World Cup squad only if India finds it necessary to have three of them in the playing 11 according to the conditions.
He picked Chahal as his preferred leg-spinner and Ravichandran Ashwin as the preferred off-spinner in that scenario.
End of the road for Shikhar Dhawan?
Although it was expected, it hit harder to actually see Shikhar Dhawan's name not be there in the squad for an ODI tournament.
Gill's superb performances at the top of the order had closed the game on the 37-year-old but some had still kept hope that he might just get in if Rahul and Shreyas were not fit and India needed experience.
"End of the road is very harsh but I think the game moves on," Karim said. "It's not only about Shikhar Dhawan. Look at Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, a year back he was part of the side and now we don't see his name in the squad. So if younger players get in and perform, it's not easy for the former match-winners to make a come back. This is a very tough reality but I think all cricketers have to go through this."
Saba Karim's playing 11 for India's Asia Cup 2023 campaign: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul/Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
