India need to rethink about team composition: Ravi Shastri
The heavy loss to South Africa in their Super 8 opener was the “shakeup” title favourites India needed going into the business end of the T20 World Cup, said former head coach Ravi Shastri. India will be desperate to make a strong comeback against Zimbabwe here on Thursday after the heavy 76-run defeat at the hands of South Africa in their Super 8 opener in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The loss against the Proteas, incidentally, was India’s first defeat after 12 successive victories across the last two editions of the T20 World Cup. “You win 12 matches on the trot, there’s bound to be an off day. And I’m glad it has come early. It might just be the shakeup India needed,” Shastri told on the latest episode of The ICC Review. “It might also make them rethink their strategy as to the composition of the side going ahead.
“They would have learned from that last experience that they’re not going to take things for granted because in this Super Eight if you lose one more (match), then you’re really putting yourself under serious pressure.” Talking about the team composition for Thursday’s crucial match, Shastri advised India to play an extra spinner keeping in mind the spin-friendly Indian conditions. He is in favour of bringing in vice-captain Axar Patel, who was replaced by Washington Sundar in the last match.
“They have to bring him (Axar Patel) back. You need that experience. I would say play both (Patel and Sundar). Give yourself that extra option. Because on a given day, you’re bound to have one bowler who’s going to have an off day. Like for example, Varun Chakravarthy on Sunday,” Shastri noted. “If Axar Patel is playing, he might be batting at No.8. You have got Hardik Pandya at No.5, you’ve got Shivam Dube at No.6, you’ve got Washington Sundar at No.7. Axar can go at No.5 as well.
“Now, if eight batters can’t do the job in T20 cricket, then something’s wrong, especially with that kind of firepower. Where you’re missing out is you’re not giving yourself that extra option of a bowler, which I think is important.” Australia legend and ICC Hall of Famer, Ricky Ponting too feels that India missed a trick by not playing Axar against the Proteas, and expects the hosts to field their best possible XI.
“Listening to the commentary, the reason Axar didn’t play (against South Africa) is because of the left handers in the opposition side. But there’s still some right handers there. It just comes down to the art of the captain of being able to use Axar at the right time,” said Ponting, who has led Australia to two ODI World Cup triumphs.
“I would be going back to the basics. I’d be just looking at their lineup. Who’s our best XI for the conditions in Chennai? “If that has Axar Patel in it, great. If it has Kuldeep Yadav in it, that’s the other one that I’d be thinking about bringing back because it doesn’t matter with him if it’s left-hand or right-hand. He can bowl wrong ones and spin the ball away from the left-hand outside edge of both those batters,” he added.
