Last Updated on 2 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: 3 conservative traits India must fix for future World Cups | 5 ways India played it safe in the 2022 T20 World Cup
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There isn’t much time to review campaigns in the hustle and bustle of the cricketing schedule. After a dismal 10-wicket loss in the T20 World Cup semi-final to England, India will embark on a tour of New Zealand before any significant reviews can take place. Also, news of IPL 2023 releases and the upcoming auction is dominating the headlines.
However, India’s issues are quite clear. Earlier this year, captain Rohit Sharma spoke of a new approach for India in T20Is. But, the 2022 T20 World Cup saw a return to a safe, quite archaic way of playing white-ball cricket, resulting in another missed opportunity for India in a major white-ball event.
Apart from Suryakumar Yadav and at times Virat Kohli, conservative play seemed to be the order of the day. However, in big games against the top teams, such tactics won’t bear fruit. With that in mind, here are five conservative traits that India must overcome for future World Cups.
India & their World Cup troubles: 3 conservative traits they must fix
1. Using the powerplay as a settling period
In bilateral T20Is in 2022, India scored more than two-and-a-half runs more per over in the powerplay than what they dished up in the World Cup. Compared to a powerplay run rate of 8.59 in bilaterals, the men in blue scored just at just 6.02 in the entire competition, with their effort of 38/1 against England proving to be costly.
Going forward, India must take advantage of the powerplay. Whether it’s a change of personnel (i.e. Rohit, KL Rahul out and Rishabh Pant in) or a change in mindset, India need to look at the first six overs as a period to get ahead, rather than just get set.
2. Demand better strike rates from the openers
Following on from point one, India’s opening stand of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul ended with the worst run rate (4.88) of any team in the Super 12s. Quite damning.
Rohit struck at just 106.4 in the whole tournament. KL Rahul fared better, but his strike rate of 120.8 won’t worry many attacks.
If India are to win World Cups, they need more up top to reduce reliance on the likes of Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya to go big only to get India to par scores.
3. Trust wristspinners more
The fact that Yuzvendra Chahal didn’t play a single game in this World Cup spoke volumes of India’s mindset. Chahal, who is often a regular in India’s T20I, was left out with finger spinners R Ashwin and Axar Patel preferred.
Both finger spinners played as defensive options, with the goal of keeping the runs down. With wristspin, India believed they would concede more. However, the wicket-taking threat was non-existent against the higher-ranked sides.
In all games excluding Zimbabwe and Netherlands, India’s spinners took a combined 1/169 in 17 overs. Hardly economical. Hardly threatening.
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