ICC World T20 2021: India favorites to break title jinx in Virat Kohli’s last captaincy stint in T20s

The Indian cricket team have shown their intent with a dominant performance in the two warm-up games against England and Australia and they will be aiming to give Virat Kohli a fitting send-off in his last captaincy stint.

The India cricket team are favorites to lift the ICC World T20 trophy in 2021. (Image credit: BCCI Twitter)
By Siddharth vishwanathan | Oct 21, 2021 | 4 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Warm-up matches are a peculiar aspect in cricket. The numbers accumulated by the players are not counted into their statistics. However, they play a major role in gauging the momentum of the team. For the Indian cricket team, the first two matches of the ICC World T20 2021 suggest that there is plenty of momentum that they have built up. Most of the players in the ICC World T20 2021 have all played in the IPL for close to a month in the UAE. The batsmen and the bowlers have all gotten acclimatized to the conditions.

In both the matches against England and Australia, the bench strength of the India cricket team was in full display. Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant all showed their mettle with the bat. Among the bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah showed why he is the best with a splendid display. What will be heartening for India is the form of R Ashwin, who bowled economically against both Australia and England. Against Australia, Rohit Sharma was at his best while Suryakumar Yadav showed glimpses of the form that had made him Mumbai Indians’ MVP in the last season of IPL.

India cricket team ticking all boxes?

KL Rahul with Rohit at the top is potent. Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant in the lower-middle order is a lethal combination. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Shardul Thakur make a deadly trio of pace bowlers. Thakur provides additional depth with the bat. R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja ticking all the spin departments, with either Rahul Chahar or Varun Chakravarthy getting a go according to the team composition. In addition, they have got MS Dhoni as the mentor. It was Dhoni who won the 2013 Champions Trophy. Having won the IPL for the fourth time, it is the right time for Dhoni to give India the mental strength for their ICC quest

So, what can go wrong for India? In ICC events, ever since 2015, it has been seen that one bad day always occurs for India in the competition. In 2015, 2016, and 2019, it was in the semifinal. India reached the final in 2017 but lost to Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy. At that time, the over-reliance on the top order meant a collapse saw India go from the point of no return.

If there is one potential weakness in the Indian team, it remains the middle order. Virat Kohli has still not shown glimpses of his old form. Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar have struggled. When you look at the middle order, they are deadly when they click. But, when they do not fire, there is further pressure.

Is bio-bubble fatigue a factor for India?

The India cricket team has faced the brunt of bio-bubbles the most ever since the coronavirus pandemic struck. The Indian cricket team was in a bio-bubble for five months from the UAE to Australia in 2020/21. Now, they have been in bio-bubbles for another five months ever since the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand.

Although there was no bio-bubble during the England Test series, they immediately went into the IPL bio-bubble from September. Now, they will be in the bio-bubble until November. How much will the under-rated aspect of bio-bubble fatigue play remains to be seen. But, it has been observed in the past that India’s bench strength is such that the longer the bio-bubble persists, the better their performance becomes. The series against Australia at the start of the year was proof.

In this tournament as well, the Indian cricket team has solid bench strength. Pacers and spinners alike have got great bench strength. The batting looks solid and consistent. It needs all the pieces to fit in like a jigsaw. Apart from the middle order, the rest of the departments are firing on all cylinders.

India’s prospects at the ICC World T20 2021?

With so many great players in the Indian cricket team, it is an alarming trend that they have not managed to win an ICC event in the last eight years. Ever since the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, India have been struggling in the knockout stages. In fact, ever since they started making an impact in cricket ever since the 1983 World Cup win, they have struggled.

They lost in the 1987 and 1996 World Cup semifinal. In 2003, they lost in the final. However, from 2007 to 2013, they won titles in grand style. But since then, they have stumbled at the knockout hurdle in five consecutive tournaments.

With Virat Kohli relinquishing the captaincy of the Twenty20 format, this is the last chance for him to make a mark on the format as captain. Kohli has a chance as a player in the ICC World T20 2022 while as a captain, he can lead India to glory in the 2023 ICC World Cup. But, with the talent pool available, it will be sad if India do not win the ICC World T20 2021 in conditions which should suit them.

India will reach the semi-final and even potentially the final. But, will they be able to go the distance and lift the trophy? The answers could be answered in the next couple of weeks.





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