Lessons from Indian T20 team and being a top heavy side

[Gullycricket]

Firstly I will agree with a point by [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] that there's merit in both sides of the argument related to opening combination of Rizbar. However, I strongly feel it's the only thing working in the team alongside the bowling department (Main bowlers who will be first choice).

India was also facing a similar predicament few years back in T20 and Odi cricket. Rather than letting Rohit or Shikhar Dhawan or Kl Rahul bat down the order they went about fixing the middle order even if it meant going with an over the hill Dinesh Karthik. Similarly they went with an unorthodox option of SKY to cover up any of the shortcomings of the openers. And look at them now being a gun team. They too have filled the middle order with attacking batsman while as Kohli, Kl Rahul or even Rohit Sharma are in the mold of Rizbar .
We will see it time and time again that middle order is the issue for PCT. The openers have won many famous matches while as I can't recall a notable performance by the middle order barring one game against NZ last year. Thus the solution remains the same. Find some unorthodox hitters doesn't matter fit or unfit. Give them some matches and see for yourself. There's no other way. Demotion of any one Rizbar to No3 won't solve anything since the problem will reoccur as they can't accelerate from ball 1. This team needs its SKY, Dinesh Karthik, Pant. These can be Malik, Azam(Sharjeel), Haris etc etc.

 

[ElRaja]

Firstly I will agree with a point by [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION] that there's merit in both sides of the argument related to opening combination of Rizbar. However, I strongly feel it's the only thing working in the team alongside the bowling department (Main bowlers who will be first choice).

India was also facing a similar predicament few years back in T20 and Odi cricket. Rather than letting Rohit or Shikhar Dhawan or Kl Rahul bat down the order they went about fixing the middle order even if it meant going with an over the hill Dinesh Karthik. Similarly they went with an unorthodox option of SKY to cover up any of the shortcomings of the openers. And look at them now being a gun team. They too have filled the middle order with attacking batsman while as Kohli, Kl Rahul or even Rohit Sharma are in the mold of Rizbar .
We will see it time and time again that middle order is the issue for PCT. The openers have won many famous matches while as I can't recall a notable performance by the middle order barring one game against NZ last year. Thus the solution remains the same. Find some unorthodox hitters doesn't matter fit or unfit. Give them some matches and see for yourself. There's no other way. Demotion of any one Rizbar to No3 won't solve anything since the problem will reoccur as they can't accelerate from ball 1. This team needs its SKY, Dinesh Karthik, Pant. These can be Malik, Azam(Sharjeel), Haris etc etc.

where from? yadav is a world class batsman (domestic ave of 35, s/r of 150), the fact that ud mention his name in the same sentence as malik, azam or sharjeel (all batsman who average, or strike considerably lower than him) shows the real issue. pak fans just need to accept there are no power hitters in Pakistan who are consistent and have world class skills.

 

[JaDed]

I chuckled reading:

"And look at them now being a gun team".. Even Indian team would be like "huh hum"?

 

[Sidilicious]

I chuckled reading:

"And look at them now being a gun team".. Even Indian team would be like "huh hum"?

Lol. I too was wondering when did india become a gun team?

 

[Pakhs]

The only thing we need to learn is that top heavy etc doesn't work. T20 is a simply a risk taking game and relies on it coming off on the day. Thats how SL beat both India and Pakistan in Asia Cup.

Rohit / India have finally realized that despite having GUN top 3 that they can easily be outdone be less averaging but more risk taking sides. Just how Australia played in the semis against Pakistan which nearly didnt pay off if Hasan Ali took wades catch but its a game where you need to take risks and some luck.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

The only thing we need to learn is that top heavy etc doesn't work. T20 is a simply a risk taking game and relies on it coming off on the day. Thats how SL beat both India and Pakistan in Asia Cup.

Rohit / India have finally realized that despite having GUN top 3 that they can easily be outdone be less averaging but more risk taking sides. Just how Australia played in the semis against Pakistan which nearly didnt pay off if Hasan Ali took wades catch but its a game where you need to take risks and some luck.

It will take ages for the current lot to even think like this, they have a bunch of Qudrats and Karamats in the side

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

I chuckled reading:

"And look at them now being a gun team".. Even Indian team would be like "huh hum"?

If he is talking about 'dunali' gun then he is right because India depends on only two players currently ie Bumrah and Sky.

 

[Gullycricket]

I chuckled reading:

"And look at them now being a gun team".. Even Indian team would be like "huh hum"?

Looking from the outside they have covered their deficiencies in the middle order. This is a far stronger Indian middle order if we look at last 5 years

 

[Rana]

I chuckled reading:

"And look at them now being a gun team".. Even Indian team would be like "huh hum"?

Water gun team

 

[jnaveen1980]

I chuckled reading:

"And look at them now being a gun team".. Even Indian team would be like "huh hum"?

Not a gun team. No team is a gun team. All teams can be knocked down in right conditions. Srilanka ranked no.8. India ranked no.1. They lost to them. Srilanka also beat Pakistan the 3rd ranked side twice. Afghanistan 10th ranked side wiped floor with 8th ranked SL side. Australia after losing 5 T20 series won the world T20 due to toss benefit. England hot favorites smothered by NZ.

 

[JaDed]

Not a gun team. No team is a gun team. All teams can be knocked down in right conditions. Srilanka ranked no.8. India ranked no.1. They lost to them. Srilanka also beat Pakistan the 3rd ranked side twice. Afghanistan 10th ranked side wiped floor with 8th ranked SL side. Australia after losing 5 T20 series won the world T20 due to toss benefit. England hot favorites smothered by NZ.

While Aus/England might be beaten or better like they were, they are a gun team for various reasons one major being doing basics right, this is something we didn't have much issue with but as seen in Asia cup we lost the Pakistan game due to basics.

I would call India gun team if they don't crumble under pressure, being beaten in a tough game is different compared to failing due to getting basics wrong.

 

[ads101]

It’s not bad being too too heavy we just need 3 good batsmen at top. 2 openers isn’t enough, too much pressure when we lose even one wicket. India always field great batsmen in the top 3. It will allow our openers to play with more intent.

We are in the situation unfortunately that I don’t think anyone can come in as an opener and do a good job. We have given Fakhar so many chances as opener and he has not done well, we can’t really pretend he is this gun opener when his performance doesn’t back it up. At the same time it’s probably not worth moving down openers when they might do worse down at 3, especially when the guy replacing them as opener will not even perform half of their current performance.

It is also probably better to have them batting together as openers anyway. You can get a good stand between them. If you break them up, it is likely we will consistently be one wicket down early on due to the new opener. Which just adds pressure.

I am hoping Masood comes good. But we might just have to accept we really only have two good t20 batsmen right now. Even in PSL, apart from Babar and Rizwan, and some of the ex international players who are over 35, no other batsmen really look that good. It’s difficult to have faith in them in internationals if they can’t even excel in PSL.

 

[Pakpak]

I can't believe so many threads dedicated to a mickey mouse contest. Noone remembers who won the bilaterals a year on, never mind later. Noone remembers who won the WCs. Other than India 2007, Pak 2009 I can barely tell you who won what in what year. As compared to the ODI WCs.

Its a joke of a format where we are the only ones who insist on playing all our main players whether we are playing Netherlands or Australia.

 

[BreadPakoda]

I can't believe so many threads dedicated to a mickey mouse contest. Noone remembers who won the bilaterals a year on, never mind later. Noone remembers who won the WCs. Other than India 2007, Pak 2009 I can barely tell you who won what in what year. As compared to the ODI WCs.

Its a joke of a format where we are the only ones who insist on playing all our main players whether we are playing Netherlands or Australia.

Finally someone said it.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

I can't believe so many threads dedicated to a mickey mouse contest. Noone remembers who won the bilaterals a year on, never mind later. Noone remembers who won the WCs. Other than India 2007, Pak 2009 I can barely tell you who won what in what year. As compared to the ODI WCs.

Its a joke of a format where we are the only ones who insist on playing all our main players whether we are playing Netherlands or Australia.

This thread is not about pyjama leagues like IPL or PSL. Just because you don't take international T20s seriously, it doesn't mean others also do the same. As long as it is international cricket, every match is important. India is also playing their full strength team so your team is not the only one.

 

[Pakhs]

It will take ages for the current lot to even think like this, they have a bunch of Qudrats and Karamats in the side

I am not sure whats so hard to understand this is where T20 has a flaw that someone like Maxwell is more valuable than Babar. If anything I rather play with 10 Asif Alis than 10 Babars or maybe 8 Asif Alis and 2 Babars.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I can't believe so many threads dedicated to a mickey mouse contest. Noone remembers who won the bilaterals a year on, never mind later. Noone remembers who won the WCs. Other than India 2007, Pak 2009 I can barely tell you who won what in what year. As compared to the ODI WCs.

Its a joke of a format where we are the only ones who insist on playing all our main players whether we are playing Netherlands or Australia.

Agree. As much as we all vent, this format is not meant to be taken seriously as much as we do. Vast majority of world T20s involve B string C string sides. They suddenly assemble main team for world T20 with zero gelling. Right after England thrashed Australia in world T 20 in UAE, Watson said this. They don't play too often conceding Australia is hopeless in this format. Little he knew Australia will go on to win the world T20. Bit of luck anyone can win this.

 

[Pakpak]

This thread is not about pyjama leagues like IPL or PSL. Just because you don't take international T20s seriously, it doesn't mean others also do the same. As long as it is international cricket, every match is important. India is also playing their full strength team so your team is not the only one.

Those leagues are better as are played rarely, once a year for a limited period of time. This T20 nonsense is non stop now in every series. I only watch the games as England came after a long time.

Even PSL my interest waned this time around

 

[ex-q-zit]

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli Unlikely To Be Selected For T20Is; Hardik Pandya To Be Long-term Captain: Sources

Two of India's most celebrated cricketers - Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli - are unlikely to be selected for T20Is going forward, sources have told NDTV. The veteran duo have been the pillars of Indian cricket for more than a decade now but the game's governing body in the country - BCCI - is planning to induct young players in the T20I format looking ahead at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies. Sources have further told NDTV that Hardik Pandya will be a crucial cog in India's T20I plans and is likely to be made the long-term captain in the shortest format.

The new BCCI selection committee, led by Chetan Sharma, which was appointed on January 7 is likely to hold talks with Virat and Rohit regarding their T20I future, sources said. They added that the star duo has made themselves available for selection in T20Is. "BCCI wants a young team under Hardik Pandya for T20Is," sources said.

When Hardik Pandya was made the captain of the Indian T20I side for the recently-concluded three-match series against Sri Lanka, there was enough speculation that Rohit's time as the T20I skipper may be close to an end. Both Rohit and Virat, a former India captain himself, were not part of the T20I squad against Sri Lanka while they were named in the ODI squad.

Rohit made his international debut in June, 2007 in ODIs. He played his first T20I is September that year. Virat, on the other hand, made his senior international debut in August, 2008 in an ODI match against Sri Lanka while he played his first T20I in June, 2010. Both have led India in T20 World Cups, but have not been able to win the marquee event as captains.

In the list of highest run-scorers in T20Is, Virat tops the chart with a tally of 4008 in 115 matches at an average of 52.73. Rohit is second on that list with 3853 runs in 148 matches at an average of 31.32.

On Monday, on the eve first ODI against Sri Lanka in Guwahati, Rohit, however, said that he is not giving up on the shortest format. "We have only six T20Is, three are over. So we'll manage, you know to look after those boys till IPL. Then we'll see what happens after the IPL. But certainly, I've not decided to give up the format," Rohit said.

Rohit added that a new look team had played the T20Is against Sri Lanka due to workload management of some of the senior players. "If you look at the schedule, there were back-to-back matches, so we decided on just looking at some players' workload that we wanted to make sure that they get enough break time and manage them. I definitely fall in that (category) as well," Rohit said.

NDTV