L-R: KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Dhruv Jurel (PTI Photo) India have played most of their ODI cricket on subcontinental grounds in the last 18 months. With very few ODIs to be played before the 2027 World Cup in South Africa, the team management knows they will have to rethink their combination. TOI looks at several points…Winning an ODI series at home is usually routine for India. An emphatic win in Vizag on Sunday must have soothed the bruised egos in the Indian dressing room after the ODI series loss in Australia and the subsequent draw in the home Test series against South Africa.
Gautam Gambhir Press Conference: Head Coach of Team India after 2-1 ODI series win over SA
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!So it was not surprising that after sealing the series, the ever combative head coach Gautam Gambhir hit back at the critics. He is usually ultra-protective of the way his team plays cricket. For once, he alluded to the fact that the ODI team is yet to find absolute form with a view to the ODI World Cup in 2027. There are three more ODIs scheduled at home this season before the team management goes full steam ahead to prepare for the mega event in South Africa in October-November 2027 once the T20 World Cup ends in February-March. Gambhir therefore took care to emphasize that the conditions at the World Cup will be vastly different.Rohit-Kohli success, lower middle order balance issuesOver the last six ODIs, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have done enough to prove that they still form the strong core of this ODI setup. Both seniors have shown an insatiable appetite for running and why it won’t be easy to move on from them in the near future.If we had to point to a glaring problem in this ODI setup, it would be the relatively unsettled lower middle order. India’s lack of firepower at the back of the innings was evident. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar’s power play was questionable.The experiment with Ruturaj Gaikwad batting at No. 4 in place of the injured Shreyas Iyer may have paid off, but the tendency to mix batsmen in different positions seems a little worrying early on. Gambhir claimed that the batting orders are exaggerated in white-ball cricket. Former national selector Devang Gandhi warned that the consequences could be very harsh, similar to what happened in the 2019 FIFA World Cup. “As long as Kohli and Rohit are there, the planning has to revolve around them. The management now has to stick to a group of no more than 20 players. Before the 2019 World Cup, nobody got enough chances to settle into No. 4. When the top order collapsed in the semi-finals, nobody was ready to play the 2023 Suryamar team World. Yadav, who did not have a good ODI record,” Gandhi told TOI.“Someone like Rishabh Pant has not played a match. If KL Rahul gets injured during the World Cup, Pant or any other wicketkeeper must get enough game time. In 2019, Pant came with experience of just five ODIs. If there is an opportunity to play both Pant and Rahul together, there is no harm in that,” then Gaikwad should stay. added.Balancing the all-rounders and finding the next pacerGambhir’s tenure as head coach has seen India play most of their ODIs in subcontinental conditions. Prasidh Krishna’s inconsistency was becoming a major talking point until he was unable to make a comeback in the last ODI. Jasprit Bumrah aside, the pace reserves lack experience at the moment. Mohammed Siraj’s omission raised eyebrows. Harshit Rana became important in cementing the plan. “That’s one of the reasons why we are trying to develop someone like Harshit who can contribute at No. 8. That’s why we need to find a balance because we would need three seamers in South Africa,” Gambhir said.Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta feels that depending on Hardik Pandya could be risky. “If Hardik is around, he will solve a lot of problems. But you have to be prepared for a situation where Hardik is not fit. Someone has to be groomed to handle the middle overs with the most impact with the bat,” reckoned Dasgupta. “So far they have played with three spinners and three pacers with a spinner batting down the order. Now they have to prepare for a six-bowler attack with four seamers. Maybe they could try Siraj as a back-up pacer,” he added.Gandhi agreed with Dasgupta. “In South Africa, you’ll need some solid top-5 batting on bouncier pitches. That’s why I feel someone like Rahul should bat a bit higher. Kohli has been fine with five solid bowling options in 2019.”
