Team India could go in for a three-seamer and two spinner option with Bhuvneshwar Kumar re-joining the squad alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami with Ravindra Jadeja, who is yet to play for India in this edition, coming in as the spinning all-rounder to cut down the long tail India is sporting for now.
Speaking right after India lost their first game in the tournament to England, where their spinners were neutralised against an aggressive Johnny Bairstow and Jason Roy, assistant coach Bangar said: “If you don’t have major contributions from the middle order then someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar lower down becomes really important,” Bangar said: “After the England game, the management team will be more open to various combinations. Three seamers can play, with Hardik [Pandya] as the fourth, or we can look at Ravindra Jadeja coming in. Anyone who is handy at No 8, and it could be Jadeja, gives you some freedom. It takes the pressure off those batting at six and seven so that they can start going at the bowling a little earlier,” he said.
India lost to England by 31 runs which was largely blamed on its ability to score at a healthy run rate in the middle overs. “From that point of view, it is a tactic we are thinking about. There will be a point in the tournament where we have to assess every combination,” Bangar said.
Bangar was candid to admit that the middle order and the lower middle order lack strength and depth and need to be reassessed. He said this lack of depth down the order forced batsmen to not take too many risks.
Kumar, Bangar said, was fully fit and available for selection in the Bangladesh match.
The till now magic spinning duo of India Chahal and Yadav were hammered out of shape by the English batsmen and conceded 97 runs in their first 10 overs but Bangar said there was more to the story than a poor performance. “It was one of their off-days but they have been doing really well for us. We need to continue to back them in the next games. They will have a crucial role to play. Playing on the same track, we know the wicket and dimensions well. We will also learn from a bowling perspective, because in the last six or seven overs against England we gave away a lot of runs. That was an area where the game slipped away from us a bit so we will look at that and learn for the next game. Every game will be crucial and we need to learn things for the next game,” he said.