DUBAI: It’s said that overthinking is the art of creating problems that weren’t even there. In cricket nowadays, coaches have taken their obsession with match-ups to another level. Barring the top three, there are no fixed slots like in the good old days. Who comes in to bat or bowl now depends primarily on statistics of a batter against a particular bowler or the coach’s instincts.With India, the issue isn’t just about mulling match-ups alone going into a game. Who bats at No. 8 is the latest opium being peddled by the experts. Apparently, India don’t have a decent bowler at that spot who can swing the bat effectively and be worth his salt. Thus, all kinds of permutations and combinations were being discussed on the eve of the game against the UAE. Will one of the tailenders bat at No. 8, or will coach Gautam Gambhir send Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma or Shivam Dube lower down the order? The opening game against the UAE on Wednesday should be a breeze for India, and it’s unlikely we’ll know who will play at No. 8. Hence, the wait will continue for a few more days.
The UAE, though, are no pushovers. They have seen a steady rise under coach Lalchand Rajput. They ran Afghanistan and Pakistan close during the recent tri-series and even won a series against Bangladesh, beating them 2-1 in May. Their captain struck a confident note during the trophy launch on Tuesday. “We have played good cricket heading into the tournament, but that is behind us now. We will look to play good cricket irrespective of whether we are playing India or Pakistan,” said UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem.
“They (UAE) have an exciting brand of cricket. Recently, they played a series and came very close to all the teams. We are excited to play them,” India captain Surya said.Since landing here last week, Gambhir has made players sweat it out in the searing heat. Most of the spots in the playing XI have been firmed up, but the grassy surface here has planted seeds of doubt in the minds of the Indian coaching staff. “We need to see how the wicket plays. Earlier, the surfaces saw a lot of cricket and looked tired, but this time there’s quite a bit of grass covering the square. We will have the first look at the pitch and plan accordingly,” bowling coach Morne Morkel said on Monday.There could be a toss-up between Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy for the specialist spinner’s role, while the part-time left-arm spin of Abhishek Sharma could come in handy. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh are likely to share new-ball duties while Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube have been made to work on their bowling in the nets.
The selection of Shubman Gill has made Sanju Samson’s place redundant, primarily because Samson doesn’t bat beyond No. 3. This has only brought Jitesh into the frame. Even though India’s last T20 International series was against England in Feb, Suryakumar stated that his team is not underprepared. “Well, if your preparations are great then you are certainly confident when you take the field,” he said. “We are playing after quite a while but we came here three-four days back and we had a good time as a team together. Really looking forward to this tournament.”Dew is expected to have a huge impact on the games, which will make winning the toss a crucial factor.
