Lack of wickets in middle overs may peg India back

There is a changing trend in Indian cricket with regards to player selection ever since Gautam Gambhir has taken over as India coach.

- Sanjay Manjrekar

The strongest influence a cricket coach can have on a team's performance is by his choice of players, while selecting the Indian squad, and thereafter the playing XI. The selectors give much credence to what the coach desires in such matters.

In 2017 after losing to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final India went from Ashwin and Jadeja as their frontline spinners to Chahal and Kuldeep, changing India's ODI trajectory in the right direction. It earned the spin pair the nickname 'Kulcha'.

India won 43 of their 60 ODI matches in this time before, in a state of panic, the immensely successful pair was dismantled after India went down to England in the 2019 World Cup. It was Indian cricket's big mistake in that WC.

The middle overs phase is an area of concern in 50-overs cricket with regards to its excitement levels and fan appeal. Harsha Bhogle once rightly called it the non-aggression pact between two teams. Where both teams choose to not assert themselves too much, it is in this lacklustre phase of the innings that most matches are won and lost.

This is where the Kulcha factor helped India tremendously. They would nip a potential hundred from a batter in the bud, making it easier for its death bowlers in the last 10.