India's T20 World Cup squad: Why Rahul Chahar and not Chahal? How did Ashwin make the cut?
We look at the reasons behind the selections of Kishan, Chahar, Ashwin, Axar, Varun and Shami
Saurabh Somani
09-Sep-2021
The following nine names were certainties in India's T20 World Cup squad: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The other six - or nine, counting the reserves - in the final squad had to beat stiff competition, understandably. The pitches in UAE are expected to have a fair bit of wear and tear, so the quality of spin bowling, as well as batting against spin, were deemed crucial. That probably played a part in the selection of Ishan Kishan, Rahul Chahar, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy and Mohammed Shami.
R Ashwin
India have played 63 T20Is since Ashwin last appeared in white-ball cricket at the international level - he played in a T20I against West Indies in July 2017 - but he has been a force in the IPL. With Washington Sundar injured, Ashwin was the foremost offspin option available. Ashwin is a fantastic bowler in powerplays - since IPL 2020, no spinner has taken more wickets than Ashwin's seven in the powerplay in the competition, and he's done that while conceding runs at 7.34. He's been a particular threat against left-hand batters, bowling 70 balls to them in the powerplay since IPL 2020 and conceding runs at just 6.77 against them while averaging 26.33. Finding the right match-ups is key to winning T20 games, and India may decide to play Ashwin against teams with multiple left-handers in the top order.
India have played 63 T20Is since Ashwin last appeared in white-ball cricket at the international level - he played in a T20I against West Indies in July 2017 - but he has been a force in the IPL. With Washington Sundar injured, Ashwin was the foremost offspin option available. Ashwin is a fantastic bowler in powerplays - since IPL 2020, no spinner has taken more wickets than Ashwin's seven in the powerplay in the competition, and he's done that while conceding runs at 7.34. He's been a particular threat against left-hand batters, bowling 70 balls to them in the powerplay since IPL 2020 and conceding runs at just 6.77 against them while averaging 26.33. Finding the right match-ups is key to winning T20 games, and India may decide to play Ashwin against teams with multiple left-handers in the top order.
Ashwin's inclusion means India have five spinners and just three frontline seamers in their squad. Chetan Sharma, the chairman of selectors, explained that was because the pitches were expected to heavily favour spinners. "If the wickets are such that you can only play two fast men, there is no point then to bench (the extra fast bowlers)," he said. "Instead you have utility players who will come in handy at some point in the match and that is why you have spinners and allrounders."
Ishan Kishan
Kishan became a contender after an impressive international debut against England earlier in the year, in which he smashed a 32-ball 56, and has been picked as a sixth batter ahead of other contenders such as Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer [in the reserves] and Sanju Samson because of his versatility. "Kishan can bat as an opener as well as he can fit into the middle order anytime," Sharma pointed out, while mentioning that Iyer missing the first half of IPL 2021 with injury counted against him.
Kishan became a contender after an impressive international debut against England earlier in the year, in which he smashed a 32-ball 56, and has been picked as a sixth batter ahead of other contenders such as Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer [in the reserves] and Sanju Samson because of his versatility. "Kishan can bat as an opener as well as he can fit into the middle order anytime," Sharma pointed out, while mentioning that Iyer missing the first half of IPL 2021 with injury counted against him.
Another thing that went in Kishan's favour is that he is a left-hander - only the second, along with Pant, among the batters - which means he matches up well against legspinners and left-arm spinners. In picking Kishan, India have got a back-up keeper, a back-up opener, someone who can rotate well against spin in the middle overs (IPL middle-overs strike rate against spinners: 124.45) and can blast off at the death (IPL death overs strike rate against pace: 213.15).
Rahul Chahar
In terms of numbers, there's little to separate Chahar from Yuzvendra Chahal, the other leggie who would have been in contention. They are neck-and-neck for wickets, averages and economy rates in the middle overs since IPL 2020. Where Chahal lost out is possibly his recent form: since the start of 2020, he's played 13 games and taken 11 wickets at 41.36 and an economy rate of 8.92. Chahar has played just four T20Is in that time, but his average (18.33) and economy (7.33) have been markedly better. Sharma pointed to the greater rip and speed Chahar imparts on the ball as reasons for his inclusion. "You want a spinner who can deliver with more speed," Sharma said. "Recently we have seen Rahul Chahar bowling with speed. The selectors' view was we need a spinner who can find the grip off the surface on the wickets and deliver with slightly more speed, and while we had a lot of discussion on Chahal, we eventually went with Rahul Chahar."
In terms of numbers, there's little to separate Chahar from Yuzvendra Chahal, the other leggie who would have been in contention. They are neck-and-neck for wickets, averages and economy rates in the middle overs since IPL 2020. Where Chahal lost out is possibly his recent form: since the start of 2020, he's played 13 games and taken 11 wickets at 41.36 and an economy rate of 8.92. Chahar has played just four T20Is in that time, but his average (18.33) and economy (7.33) have been markedly better. Sharma pointed to the greater rip and speed Chahar imparts on the ball as reasons for his inclusion. "You want a spinner who can deliver with more speed," Sharma said. "Recently we have seen Rahul Chahar bowling with speed. The selectors' view was we need a spinner who can find the grip off the surface on the wickets and deliver with slightly more speed, and while we had a lot of discussion on Chahal, we eventually went with Rahul Chahar."
Axar Patel
While he's a natural back-up for Ravindra Jadeja, Patel is not just there as cover for one player. His all-round skills and bowling nous mean he can fit a variety of roles. His overall economy rate since IPL 2020 has been 6.55, with only two spinners going better than him, Rashid Khan and Washington, and Patel's wicket-taking ability has been much better than Washington's, with 15 wickets at 29.26. Left-arm spinners are traditionally more vulnerable to left-hand batters, but Patel's economy against them is 6.83, far superior to any other left-arm spinner since IPL 2020. His batting is also potent. He's hit at a strike rate of 190.47 from Nos. 8 to 11 since IPL 2020, clear of the other lower-order candidates India had to choose from.
While he's a natural back-up for Ravindra Jadeja, Patel is not just there as cover for one player. His all-round skills and bowling nous mean he can fit a variety of roles. His overall economy rate since IPL 2020 has been 6.55, with only two spinners going better than him, Rashid Khan and Washington, and Patel's wicket-taking ability has been much better than Washington's, with 15 wickets at 29.26. Left-arm spinners are traditionally more vulnerable to left-hand batters, but Patel's economy against them is 6.83, far superior to any other left-arm spinner since IPL 2020. His batting is also potent. He's hit at a strike rate of 190.47 from Nos. 8 to 11 since IPL 2020, clear of the other lower-order candidates India had to choose from.
Varun Chakravarthy
Varun's variations and unorthodox grips and releases set him apart from the other spinners in the pack. With India picking Chahar as the legspinner, two left-arm spinners and Ashwin, he could be the X-factor. Varun has made himself a contender through the IPL, in which he is among the top five wicket-taking spinners since 2020 in the powerplay as well as the middle overs. He can bowl to right or left-hand batters comfortably and maintains a good economy rate too. Most of the sides in India's group don't have too many batters in the IPL, so they would not have had a chance to work out Varun. As Sharma put it, "The world doesn't know what Varun Chakravarthy is. If we ourselves cannot understand (how to read him) what will the batsman know?"
Varun's variations and unorthodox grips and releases set him apart from the other spinners in the pack. With India picking Chahar as the legspinner, two left-arm spinners and Ashwin, he could be the X-factor. Varun has made himself a contender through the IPL, in which he is among the top five wicket-taking spinners since 2020 in the powerplay as well as the middle overs. He can bowl to right or left-hand batters comfortably and maintains a good economy rate too. Most of the sides in India's group don't have too many batters in the IPL, so they would not have had a chance to work out Varun. As Sharma put it, "The world doesn't know what Varun Chakravarthy is. If we ourselves cannot understand (how to read him) what will the batsman know?"
Mohammed Shami
Shami fits the bill as a back-up pacer to either Bumrah or Bhuvneshwar because, like both of them, he can bowl in the powerplay as well as at the death. Bowling at the death is probably what gave him an edge over Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur [both in the reserves], who have had greater success up top. Shami has got 14 death-over wickets since IPL 2020, which is the same as Deepak Chahar, Thakur and Mohammed Siraj combined. He can move the ball both ways, as he's shown ample times in the past, and as a bonus, he has the undefinable ability to be unplayable regardless of format when he gets into his rhythm.
Shami fits the bill as a back-up pacer to either Bumrah or Bhuvneshwar because, like both of them, he can bowl in the powerplay as well as at the death. Bowling at the death is probably what gave him an edge over Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur [both in the reserves], who have had greater success up top. Shami has got 14 death-over wickets since IPL 2020, which is the same as Deepak Chahar, Thakur and Mohammed Siraj combined. He can move the ball both ways, as he's shown ample times in the past, and as a bonus, he has the undefinable ability to be unplayable regardless of format when he gets into his rhythm.
With stat inputs from Sampath Bandarupalli
Saurabh Somani is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo