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Indian middle-order lets go of top-order dependency, finds stability, consistency as 2027 ODI WC awaits
The Statesman Siliguri
|March 13, 2025
With two successive white-ball titles following T20 World Cup 2024 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025 wins, the Men in Blue, left heartbroken by a loss to Australia at 2023 World Cup finals, are at the top of the world again.
A highly motivated and confident India, halfway through their journey towards 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup, has managed to solve its biggest issue in white-ball cricket that kept its trophy cabinet empty for so long: Instability and inconsistency in the middle-order.
Since 2010s, India's white-ball success has been dependent on the heroics of its biggest superstars, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Openers Shikhar Dhawan, the 'Mr ICC' for India and later, the 'Prince' Shubman Gill served as highly-attacking openers that would complement Rohit and Virat well. If Rohit did not get them, Gill did. If Gill did not get them, Rohit did. If Rohit-Gill failed, it was Virat's safety net that guarded India from danger. However, in recent years, India found itself struggling to find new middle-order replacements for its former stars, skipper MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, three men who kept India steps ahead of their opponents with a rare mix of calm and aggression.
This story is from the March 13, 2025 edition of The Statesman Siliguri.
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