Not that India needs a reminder, but the tagline for the Champions Trophy ‘All on the line’ that is pasted all across the ground sums up what this tournament could be for India. When the Rohit Sharma-Gautam Gambhir era began this season, few would have foreseen that the Champions Trophy – coming just eight months after the T20 World Cup triumph — would turn into a tournament that could well define their way forward for many of their own.
After the turbulent Australia trip which laid bare the cracks in the team, the Champions Trophy could well be the face saving one or a tournament that pulls down the curtains for some. But as skipper Rohit Sharma reminded at the press conference, it is also worth mentioning to not mix the formats. Before becoming world beaters in T20s, it is in ODIs that India really showed significant signs of embracing a new aggressive brand of cricket. At the World Cup, the last 50-over ICC event, they were the team of the tournament, but only for Australia to come up better in the final.
Of course, a lot could be riding on this tournament for the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and the support staff led by Gautam Gambhir. But even in the absence of their most valuable player Jasprit Bumrah the mood in the camp nowhere showed signs of a team carrying any baggage. If anything, they were in a relaxed mood – may be most of it had to do with the bug that is going around in the team – choosing to have a relaxed training session on the eve of the match. Having had two training sessions since their arrival here on Friday, India had an off-day on Tuesday, and on Wednesday had it light sans any net sessions. Instead, they indulged in a bit of foot volley before the batsmen had a few underarm throwdowns in the outfield.
Needing a pace lift
With the bowling unit, the scene was totally different. With Bumrah not around, India have chosen just three frontline seamers – Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana – for the tournament. Of the three, Arshdeep just played the lone match against England and unlike T20Is, he is yet to ascertain himself in the format. Rana, having made his debut against England, has struggled when it comes to bowling with the new ball. Which leaves India depending a lot on Shami who has been struggling for rhythm since his comeback from a lengthy injury lay-off.
“Shami has played only two games and then obviously a couple of T20s as well. All we wanted with Shami was to get back wearing the Indian colours more than anything else. Whether he gets wickets or not, that was completely immaterial for us at that point. We wanted him to get back to playing for India and he has done that and whatever I have seen of him so far looks perfectly fine. When you talk about an older player like Shami who has done the job over the years so many times for us, for them it is just about getting back to their rhythm and hopefully we can find some result early on in this tournament and help the team,” Rohit said.
Those hopes on Shami from Rohit are not without reasons. If anything, as former India player and UAE coach Robin Singh who is well versed with the conditions here, told this daily the pitch in Dubai tends to assist pacers like Shami who hit the seam and generate movement. When that happens there are few fast bowlers who could exploit the condition as good as Shami does. The thin resources on the seam-bowling front where Hardik Pandya is expected to increase his load.
Jadeja, Axar & Kuldeep
In contrast, in the spin-bowling front, India have come here with the most rounded-attack. In Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar they have a variety that few teams could dream off. But their decision to pick five for the trip when the pitches have traditionally assisted seamers has raised a lot of questions.
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And when Rohit was asked about the rationale to pick five, his response gave enough glimpse of India’s plans. “There are two spinners (Kuldeep Yadav and Varun), and the other three are all-rounders, so I am not looking at it as five spinners. Those three guys can bat and bowl,” Rohit remarked. “We work on our strengths, and those three guys (Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar) give a different dimension to our combination and add depth. That is why we wanted to get players with two skills rather than one.”
Having depth in batting and bowling is what India believe is the way to take this team to the next level as they want to build on the highs of the 50-over World Cup. With the top four all right handers and Rishabh Pant only around as cover, India plan to make the most out of Jadeja and Axar, who are in line to start here alongside Kuldeep. It means, Varun and Washington have to warm the bench for the time being.
With regards to Varun it is understood that India want to unleash him in the later half of the tournament. His inclusion will be based more on the opposition than the conditions as he has been allowed to work on his niggle that he sustained recently.
Given how the other teams are packed and India having the advantage of playing all their matches in Dubai, they look every bit prepared to add another ICC title to their name. They have arrived here with a clear blueprint. How far it works will decide how far they go in this tournament.
