India won the ODI series against West Indies but Saturday’s defeat in New Chandigarh was symptomatic of the weaknesses the team has a year before the World Cup: poor catching and a lack of wicket-taking bowlers.
With Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel at the Asian Games, it was an ideal opportunity for Brar, Naman Dhir, Auqib Nabi and Kamboj to strengthen their cases. However, the returns were largely underwhelming, leaving the team management with more questions. “I know people will talk about his analysis. You can have him bowl in the middle overs, make him bowl defensively and get good stats. “But at the same time, it’s something that is not in our hands. It’s a good chance for the other players. “Bowling in the powerplay and at the death is something that has hurt us. “Honestly, I don’t think there is that much time to experiment. The combination that we want to play (in the World Cup), hopefully we get all the players available from the next series. The batting, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Gill and KL Rahul looking in good touch, appears to be in a reassuring position. But runs alone will not guarantee World Cup success.
But the more he bowls in tough conditions, in tough situations, the better it is for Indian cricket,” he said. Skipper Shubman Gill said injuries and scheduling had restricted India’s ability to field their preferred attack. If you don’t get off to a good start in the powerplay, we’ve seen that in the middle overs it’s not easy to take wickets or create chances with only four fielders outside,” Gill said.
