dubai: A turbulent recent cricketing past has made a resonant effort mandatory for India in the Champions Trophy, and their opening match against a tricky Bangladesh here on Thursday will be the first point in assuaging a set of existential questions surrounding this team.
These questions are worrying even for pre-tournament favourites like India. Can this Indian bowling unit tide over the absence of injured pace talisman Jasprit Bumrah? Can Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma summon their glory days back? Can young names like Shubman Gill ace the pressure of a multi-nation competition to deliver consistently?
In that context, the ICC showpiece is a godsend because ODI is the comfort zone of those icons and young tyros in this Indian line-up, and they will be genuinely eyeing a strong outing here.
It’s imperative that they do so – from a team and individual perspective.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Kohli, Rohit and even head coach Gautam Gambhir, although only six months into his tenure, are living on borrowed time because the shockwaves created by the setbacks against New Zealand and Australia have not subsided yet.
Some bright signs are there though. Skipper Rohit made a century a few days back against England and Kohli a fifty, while Gambhir masterminded the dominant 4-1 and 3-0 victories in T20Is and ODIs, respectively.
But the challenge India face in the Champions Trophy is vastly different from a rather cosy home series, and even one defeat can change the whole league stage equation quite dramatically.
Selection headache
Although India are playing a strong brand of 50-over cricket of late, they have some selection riddles to solve before they face Bangladesh.
It starts with KL Rahul’s batting position. Will he bat at No. 5, his most productive slot, or at No. 6 with Axar Patel coming one place above him?
The wicketkeeper batter had batted at No. 6 in the first two matches against England before going back to No. 5 in the final one-dayer. In all likelihood, the team management could remain fluid and take a call as per the game situation here.
However, finding the right balance in bowling poses a bigger challenge, partly because of the absence of Bumrah.
It will be a toss between Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana as the new-ball partner of lead pacer Mohammed Shami, who will have to lift his game by a few notches here.
Rana might have been impressive so far in his outings, and he has the ability to hustle the batters with sheer pace and bounce even on the most docile of pitches.
Bangladesh’s high hopes
Heading into their opener against India, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto was filled with optimism.
“If you look in this format, our team is quite balanced and we believe we can beat any team in this tournament. All teams are capable of winning this trophy but I am someone who is not thinking about the opponents much. If we execute our plan properly we can beat any team in any day,” Shanto said.
After years of struggle, Bangladesh are now in a position to boast a good pace-bowling attack, feels Shanto.