New Delhi: Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma could face wholesale changes in India’s T20 squad after their devastating World Cup semi-final loss to England.
Chasing a target of 169 with four overs to spare, England won by 10 wickets at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday and set up a final against India’s arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday.
Openers Alex Hales (86 not out) and Jos Buttler (80 not out) did the damage against a muted Indian bowling attack that lacked both fire and fury.
Cricket is by far the most popular sport in the world’s second most populous country, but India have not won a world title since the 2013 Champions Trophy and the agonizing wait continues.
The beatings were met with frustration, anger and demands to return the heads.
Reports on Friday said that the T20 squad will begin undergoing a major reshuffle in the coming days, with prominent senior players including Rohit, Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin being phased out.
Kohli has scored four half-centuries in this World Cup, including a heroic in India’s tournament opener against Pakistan, but at 34, the superstar batsman does not see much of a future.
“You won’t see most of the seniors playing T20s next year,” the Press Trust of India quoted a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) source as saying.
The Indian team could look very different the next time the T20 World Cup comes to the United States and the West Indies in 2024.
“Right now is not the right time to talk about that or think about that,” coach Rahul Dravid said when asked about the future of his senior players after his side’s defeat.
This was told by former cricketer Sunil Wilson AFP That India was defeated in every aspect against a ruthless England.
The former fast bowler said that the selectors should sit down and look and prepare a new combination.
Former India bowler Harbhajan Singh suggested that India should appoint a new head coach after the recently retired 49-year-old Dravid and replace Rohit with Hardik Pandya as captain.
Batting great Sunil Gavaskar said the Indian selectors have already sent a “signal” to the senior players by picking the 29-year-old Pandya as captain for the upcoming T20I series in New Zealand.
“Retirement can happen, there are many players in their mid-30s who can consider their future in T20 Internationals,” he said on air after the semi-final.
Power play powerless.
India are rated as the world’s top T20 team but have been criticized for slow scoring in the powerplay, scoring 38–1 in their first six overs, while England were 63 for no loss. Scored runs.
Veteran journalist Rajdeep Sardesai said India needed new blood who was less conservative.
“We lost the game in the first 10 overs when we played timidly. After that we need a general who bats at a strike rate of 150 plus and bowlers who take wickets,” he tweeted.
Dravid admitted that he was hurt by the Indian cricket board’s ban on players from entering overseas T20 tournaments such as Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL).
He said that many of our boys may lose the opportunity to play in these leagues.
But allowing them to do so would end long forms of the Indian game.
“It’s the middle of our season, and with the demand for Indian players, if you allowed all Indian players to play in these leagues, we wouldn’t have domestic cricket.”
He added: “Our domestic trophy, our Ranji Trophy, will come to an end, and that will mean the end of Test cricket.”
Hales, who was only recalled to the England squad after Jonny Bairstow broke his leg in September, brought his BBL experience to the fore as he hit seven sixes in a 47-ball blitz.
The opener, who had a successful season with Sydney Thunder, is one of a number of English players who have competed in the Big Bash and is familiar with the Australian grounds.
“It helps, obviously,” Butler said.