Why India Needs A Fearless Batting Order

Team India needs to select batsmen who are not afraid to take risks in order to win the T20 World Cup. The South Africa tour will be a test

- Sumit Chakraberty

The current South Africa tour is vital for India to nail down their selection for the T20 World Cup in June. Last month's 4-1 drubbing of Australia in a T20 series right after losing to them in the ODI World Cup final started the selection trials, so to speak. The Suryakumar Yadav-led T20 side then drew 1-1 in South Africa, with an impressive 106-run victory in the final match.

India have not won a T20 World Cup since the inaugural one in 2007. The 2024 T20 edition will likely be the last chance for coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma to rectify that.

Two lessons are already apparent from stumbling at the last hurdle of the 2023 ODI World Cup and in the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup: First, a conservative approach in the middle overs rarely pays off, especially while setting a target, and second, India needs to include more left-handed batters.

Virat Kohli and K.L. Rahul consumed 18 overs in their 67-run partnership between the 11th and 29th overs of the ODI World Cup final on 19 November. A strike rate below 4 runs an over for such a prolonged period, with part-time spinners Travis Head and Glenn Maxwell operating, was ultra-conservative. India just froze after losing three wickets.

Similarly, Kohli's 50 in 40 balls at a below-par strike rate of 125, had resulted in a sub-optimal score of 168, in the T20 World Cup semi-final on 10 November 2022. England knocked that off with four overs to spare, without losing a single wicket on a belter of a wicket in Adelaide.