Expect more churn, India side is still unstable
Some part of this was expected. Players can lose form, others may struggle with fitness or injury. But Kohli’s bigger concern will be that the team has not been able to maintain a consistent winning rhythm over a period of time, especially playing overseas.
This cost India the Champions Trophy last year and the No.1 (ODI) ranking after losing to England this year. The World Cup too will be played in England, so there is need to find players who are not only hugely successful in making runs or taking wickets at home, but elsewhere too.
OPPORTUNITY TO TEST
I reckon that five-six slots are still open in the squad. In that sense, the Asia Cup affords opportunity to Kohli, Shastri and the selectors for assessing form and adaptability of players and zeroing in on those who are versatile, tenacious and ambitious.
While the tournament is being played in the sub-continent, for India’s players this is still unfamiliar territory. Moreover, a multi-country tournament throws up challenges quite different from those in a bilateral series.
All attention has obviously been focused on the India-pakistan clash. Interestingly and cleverly, the itinerary has been structured to allow possibly three matches between the arch-rivals, which kind of makes up for the times the two countries have defaulted playing each other!
(As an aside, I am a proponent of regular sporting ties between India and Pakistan. If diplomatic and trade relations can continue, why make sport, which in fact can facilitate better relations, suffer? But that’s another story.)
FOCUS ON TITLE
But while winning against Pakistan (I write this on the eve of Wednesday’s game) is paramount and poses the stiffest challenge – for cricketing and sentimental reasons -- it is the title that India want badly to set the World Cup campaign rolling on a positive note.
Beating Pakistan but not bringing the Asia Cup to India (Bangladesh and Afghanistan are no pushovers going by their performances so far) would be more grist to jingoism, but in the larger context, a pyrrhic achievement.