After India vs West Indies ODI series, question is: Are Kohli & Co World Cup ready?

Virat Kohli’s boys will probably be prime contenders for the title of ‘world champions’ — officially — come July 2019. Ranked number two in the ICC list of one-day international teams, they were, however, given a rude wake-up call by cellar team Windies in the recent ODI series in India. The team led by Jason Holder is ranked number nine and has had to take the qualifier path to the World Cup of 2019. After losing to India by eight wickets in the opener at Guwahati, the team from the Caribbean Isles fought back to tie the match at Visakhapatnam and then won by 47 runs at Pune, to level the series 1-1. Just when it looked like the series was heading towards an exciting finish, with two matches to go, the men from the Windies capitulated and handed out massive, ego-boosting wins to the Indians. Was it perhaps the fear of success that did them in? Be that as it may, both teams have important takeaways from the series. The complacent Indians will have realised that their team for the World Cup in England and Wales, only seven months away, is not yet set. Ravi Shastri, Kohli and the selectors therefore need to wake up and start smelling the coffee. The Windies, on the other hand, after some outstanding performances from their batsmen and some promising spells from their bowlers, will know that they have an outside chance of making it to the knockout rounds of the World Cup, if they apply themselves. And that’s a big if! [caption id=“attachment_5495201” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Who will make it to India’s World Cup squad of 2019? Illustration courtesy Austin Coutinho[/caption] The Indian selectors, expecting the supposedly beleaguered Windies players to surrender meekly, had rested frontline bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, besides a few others. After the upsets at Visakhapatnam and at Pune, the Indian team was quickly rejigged and even the ‘injury prone’ Kedar Jadhav was recalled to the squad. What could have been, therefore, a series to experiment with players like Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal or even young pacers like Shivam Mavi or Avesh Khan was quickly turned into a face-saving situation. Thanks to the short-sightedness of the powers that be, Shaw or Agarwal may not be part of the Indian World Cup squad of 2019. Another batsman who may be a mute spectator during the World Cup is the talented Manish Pandey. Therefore, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul seem to have booked their place in the team as openers. Rahul, whose mind is in a muddle right now, didn’t play a single match in the recent ODI series, while Dhawan scored 4, 29, 35, 38 and 6 in the five matches, averaging 22.4 runs per knock. Sharma, on the other hand, scored an unbeaten 152 at Guwahati, 162 at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium and an unbeaten 63 at Thiruvananthapuram. India won those three matches quite easily. He was out early at Visakhapatnam and at Pune, where India did not win, despite hundreds from skipper Kohli. Does that ring a bell? In my opinion, India will be better served if Sharma scores a 50 more consistently rather than those ‘daddy’ hundreds. If he gets out early, the Indian team’s soft underbelly gets exposed and more often than not there is a collapse, despite Kohli’s reassuring presence at one end. Post the ODI series against the Windies, Ambati Rayudu — who has been in and out of the Indian squad for several seasons — has now found a backer in Kohli. The skipper has also stated that MS Dhoni is an ‘integral part’ of the Indian team. Besides his vast experience as ‘keeper, batsman and former captain, Dhoni brings with him deep knowledge of the intricacies of game, though his batting form has been worrisome in recent times. The Indian team management will therefore hope that he strikes form before the team departs for the World Cup in May 2019. Probably one of the best limited overs bowlers of recent times, Bumrah walks into the team on merit. First choice as a new ball partner for Bumrah will be Bhuvneshwar Kumar, even though his form has been scrappy after his return from his back injury. The Indian selectors will only hope he will be able to take the rigours of the trip to the antipodes in his stride and still remain fit for the World Cup. That’s about it. The other places in the playing 11 are up for grabs and this isn’t a happy situation for a team that aspires to win the World Cup! English conditions demand that there be at least two genuine all-rounders in every team. India has none. Hardik Pandya (if fit), Kedar Jadhav, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are all bits-and-pieces players; they will either bowl or they will bat — they will seldom excel in both departments. Who will be Dhoni’s understudy? Rishabh Pant or one among the veterans, Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik? ‘Keeping is surely one area in which India hasn’t been able to discover much talent over the last decade or so. Pant seems to be best among a host of mediocre ‘keeper-batsmen in the country at present. Kohli would like to include at least one wrist spinner in the playing eleven, in England. Will it be Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal? If a second spinner is needed, will it be Ashwin or Jadeja? Finally, if Pandya doesn’t recover in time from his lower back injury, who are the fast bowlers from among Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami who will be in the lineup? It is my guess that India’s bowling attack, in the World Cup will consist of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed (because of the variety he provides), Umesh Yadav, Pandya (again, if fit) and Yuzvendra Chahal. If Kedar Jadhav fits in, he will be the sixth bowler. Despite the Windies losing the ODI series in India by three matches to one, I have always believed that the limited overs game was designed for the flamboyance and flourish of the combatants from the Caribbean Isles. In the recent series, many fans of the Caribbean style of cricket have seen a ray of hope in the way the team most often responded to pressure situations. Besides, young players like Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Ashley Nurse and Oshane Thomas have shown why Windies cricket could recover and climb up the rankings, in the years to come. I hope to see the following Windies team, probably a fantasy 11, to play in the World Cup. If they do, we may see a few shocks and surprises at the league stage; and, who knows, at the knockout stage too! The team is: 1. Chris Gayle 2. Sunil Narine (as pinch-hitter) 3. Evin Lewis 4. Shai Hope (wicket-keeper) 5. Shimron Hetmyer 6. Marlon Samuels 7. Jason Holder (Captain) 8. Andre Russell 9. Ashley Nurse 10. Shannon Gabriel 11. Oshane Thomas. India will look to win the World Cup a third time, in 2019. Are Windies the dark horses? The author is a caricaturist and sportswriter. A former fast bowler and coach, he is now a mental toughness trainer.