Prima facie, the upcoming three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan, scheduled to be held from 11 to 17 January, lacks the magnitude to cause any stir in the global cricket circuit.
The series exists as – cue a Fight Club reference in a place you least expected – the ‘middle children’ of the 2023-24 calendar, sandwiched between important events. There is no great purpose, like accumulating World Test Championship points in every Test match. There is no great war, with Afghanistan – for all of their remarkable achievements recently – being nine places adrift of India in the ICC men’s T20I team rankings.
Yet, there is interest, and more than that, curiosity. There are prominent returnees like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, and there are notable absentees like Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer.
In this article, we will try to understand why this series is being treated with the utmost importance, and what answers every stakeholder in Indian cricket – from the fans to the team management – will be looking to find out from the next three matches.
Why Is This Series Important?
Differentiating this bilateral series from the gazillion of others is its scheduling. This will mark India’s last T20I expedition before June’s T20 World Cup, and subsequently, the last opportunity to fine-tune the squad.
Indeed, the players will be seen playing T20 cricket at the Indian Premier League (IPL) from March to May, but not as a unit, and not necessarily in the same role they have for India.
Accordingly, the team management will only have this series as the opportunity to solve the dilemmas still unsolved.
What Will Be the Major Areas of Focus?
1. Return of Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s last T20I appearance was way back on 10 November 2022, in the ill-fated ten-wicket defeat to England in the T20 World Cup semi-finals.
The pair’s return to this format was delayed – for the selectors opted for a different route since that defeat – but not denied. After fourteen months of T20I exile, they are very likely – in fact, almost certain, according to former cricketers like Aakash Chopra – to feature in the 2024 T20 WC.
Despite their monumental stature, however, both Sharma and Kohli need to justify their reclamation bid, for their returns might trigger the subsequent omission of at least two from the trio of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad – who were among India’s leading run-scorers in T20Is in 2023.
Leading run-scorers for India in T20Is, since the 2022 T20 WC loss against England:
Suryakumar Yadav – 857 Runs
Yashasvi Jaiswal – 430 Runs
Ruturaj Gaikwad – 365 Runs
Shubman Gill – 312 Runs
Tilak Varma – 310 Runs
2. Who Gets the Only Vacant Slot in Top 3?
This series should also unravel the occupant for the only vacant slot in the Indian top three, following Sharma and Kohli’s comebacks. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s finger injury could not have come at a worse time, for having scored 365 T20I runs at an average of 60.8 in 2023, he had every right to throw his hat into the ring.
With him being unavailable, the two hats selectors currently have are Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The former, albeit still only 24, might have the seniority factor working in his favour, having played 37 Tests and 44 ODIs.
Yet, the latter has superior T20I numbers, having scored three half-centuries and a century in 14 innings, as opposed to Gill’s one half-century and a century in 13 innings.
Shubman Gill vs Yashasvi Jaiswal in T20I cricket:
Innings – Jaiswal 14, Gill 13
Runs – Jaiswal 430, Gill 312
Average – Jaiswal 33.1, Gill 26
Strike Rate – Jaiswal 159.3, Gill 145.1
3. Will a Backup All-Rounder Be Groomed?
Hardik Pandya, India’s premier all-rounder who is currently recovering from an injury sustained at the 2023 ODI World Cup, is expected to be fit for the T20 World Cup. But with his injury records being ominous, it remains to be seen if India will opt to groom a backup all-rounder.
Whilst the six-batters-five-bowlers combination was predominantly been used in recent times, coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma will have a couple of all-rounders handy, in Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube.
Dube – India’s sole pace-bowling all-rounder – played only five T20I matches in 2023, where he scored 47 runs in two innings, and picked up a wicket. Sundar might have got eight chances on the contrary, but he batted in only three of those matches, scoring 60 runs. With the ball, he picked up five wickets.
Shivam Dube & Washington Sundar’s 2023 T20I numbers:
Shivam Dube – 47 runs in 2 innings, 1 wicket
Washington Sundar – 60 runs in 3 innings, 5 wickets
4. The Spin Conundrum – Kuldeep Yadav or Ravi Bishnoi?
The second-ranked men’s T20I bowler not having his place cemented in the national team might sound strange, but in Indian cricket, stranger things have happened.
Accordingly, despite being India’s most successful T20I spinner in 2023, Ravi Bishnoi’s place in the playing XI is far from being guaranteed, with his competitor being another consistent performer, Kuldeep Yadav.
Leg-spinner Bishnoi scalped 18 wickets in 11 T20Is last year, as opposed to the left-arm wrist spinner, Yadav’s 14 wickets in nine matches. Considering either Ravindra Jadeja or Axar Patel will be allotted a slot for their batting prowess, Bishnoi and Yadav are effectively fighting for the same slot, with the management’s preference expected to be made transparent in this series.
Ravi Bishnoi vs Kuldeep Yadav in T20Is from 2023:
Matches – Bishnoi 11, Yadav 9
Wickets – Bishnoi 18, Yadav 14
Average – Bishnoi 17.61, Yadav 13.14
Economy Rate – Bishnoi 7.20, Yadav 5.97
5. Who Will Be Pace Quartet’s Last Member?
Except that they are all pacers, two similarities unite the trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami.
Firstly, they will all miss this series – Bumrah and Siraj being rested, and Shami recovering from an injury – and secondly, they are all expected to feature at the T20 World Cup.
Subsequently, only one member of the pace trio selected to face Afghanistan – comprising Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan – might make it to the World Cup squad.
Arshdeep, who also featured in the 2022 edition of the competition, has seen his numbers taking a dip. Whilst he played 21 T20Is in both 2022 and 2023, his wickets tally dropped to 26 last year from 33 in 2022. His average, strike rate and economy rate have also increased significantly.
Arshdeep Singh’s T20I numbers – 2022 vs 2023:
2022 – 33 wickets in 21 matches, 18.1 average, 13.3 strike rate, 8.17 economy rate
2023 – 26 wickets in 21 matches, 24.5 average, 15.8 strike rate, 9.26 economy rate
Mukesh Kumar, whose forte might be red-ball cricket, is hence very much in the race to be the last member of India’s T20 World Cup pace quartet. Having played only four T20Is in 2023, Avesh Khan’s chances are slim.
Mukesh Kumar & Avesh Khan’s T20I numbers in 2023:
Mukesh Kumar – 10 wickets in 11 innings, 31.4 average, 9.28 economy rate
Avesh Khan – 5 wickets in 4 innings, 29.6 average, 9.03 economy rate
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