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As the dust settles: What we learnt from India's T20 World Cup Campaign


image-laf2h5j5Indian cricket team after a defeat to England [Source: Associated Press]


India, a country where cricket runs through its veins. Through every alleyway, through every household. The Men in Blue step onto the field with dreams of their own, but they take with them another few million of the same dream: to win the T20 World Cup. 

The T20 World Cup 2022 has finally ended and England were crowned the champions. As the dust settles and the emotions sink in, let's look at what we learnt from India's World Cup campaign. 


Arshdeep Singh is a superstar in the making

A 23 year old stumbles his way into the Indian World Cup squad, he had barely made his debut and was already being overshadowed by Avesh Khan and the likes of a few other senior bowlers. His odds looked grim, but young Arshdeep Singh never failed to shine. Right before the marquee event, Singh was bullied and obliterated for a dropped catch and now he had a point to prove. 

Jasprit Bumrah, the alpha of the Indian bowling lineup and the master of death bowling was ruled out of the squad. Suddenly, Arshdeep found himself at the frontlines of the Indian bowling attack, he was India's best shot at stabilising the death bowling vulnerabilities. 

Arshdeep took 10 wickets in six innings in the tournament, while also proving that he could take on the pressures of opening as well as bowling in the death overs. 

The fast bowler displayed his mastery with the ball; early swing and early wickets, Singh took 2 wickets in one over twice. He took the reins of death bowling and never failed to deliver. Everytime Arshdeep stepped onto the bowling crease, enormous pressure was built on the opposition. 

For someone as young as Arshdeep to come into the squad with the weight of the world on his shoulders, he performed brilliantly and proved that he is a superstar in the making. 


India needs to work on utilising its bench-strength 

The one drawback that was evident in the squad was that there was no solid combination in the team. It was a star studded team but it was a team of individuals. And it was a team you could see right through. 

Everytime there was an injury, every time there was a hiccup, a sort of panic set in. Even though India has a brilliant bench strength, the management doesn't seem to be utilising the players on hand. 

If there's a statement to make, its that no where in the world will you find a bench strength as diverse and as talented as India. 

Even way before the tournament, when management had the time to try and test young players, we were only focused on the Rishabh Pant vs Dinesh Karthik conundrum. And even after focusing on it so much, we couldn't find an answer; even throughout the tournament. 


Indian middle-order batting is in safe hands 

Another positive to take home from the T20 World Cup is that the Indian middle-order is in safe hands. Two sides of coin, it was painfully proven, time and again, like salt on the wound that the Indian openers could not deliver what was needed of them. Cricket is evolving, these days the opening partnerships decide the fate of the match. 

But the Indian middle-order stepped up and produced runs every single time. If it wasn't for the multiple match-saving innings played by Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya our totals would have pushed us out of the tournament way before we actually left. 


Experiments can blow up

The Indian management was playing with fire. Way before the tournament, the vice-captain found himself in a very tricky position, where he was playing at multiple batting positions. I think its safe to say that KL Rahul wasn't finding his groove while opening, why else would they ever send him down the order? 

With KL Rahul there were a few other positions that weren't reserved but should have been. Every batting lineup has an anchor and it is usually the number 4 and number 6 batters. If we had a number 4 we didn't have a finisher, if we had a finisher we didn't have a number 4, it was all a hot mess. 

Unsure of who will bat where, KL Rahul was being experimented at different positions until the very last series before the tournament. 


Virat Kohli has proved he's going nowhere for the next few years

Even though Virat Kohli made a mesmerising comeback in the Asia Cup, there was still a bit of fear. 

Will Kohli be able to repeat the miracles in the T20 World Cup? 

Every doubt, every fear, every uncertainty went right out the window after Kohli's knock against Pakistan. Passion and dedication oozed out of every single innings, ounce by ounce, in every drop of sweat, in every stroke play and in every run chased. 

Kohli scored three unbeateans in the tournament (82*, 64* and 62*), he ended the tournament as the highest run scorer with 296 runs in 6 innings. Proving once again (Although I believe there's no need for him to prove anything) that he is the only man worthy enough to be named Virat. 


Cricket stars are human too

It was immensely disheartening to see the way players were being treated throughout the tournament. Being a cricketer, playing for your country and trying to win the world cup is hard enough as it is. 

Talking about cricket is very easy, it is easier to sound like a master when you have a script, the script being the match you just watched. 

When the players walk onto the field, there's no script, yes, you can plan a few things, but in reality you just have to take it ball by ball, and there's no telling what will happen next. 

Hindsight makes the viewer a master. 

Indian players were brutally criticised for their shortcomings, but what we're forgetting is: cricket stars are human too. They see your tweets, they see your messages, they see the filthy memes and the "expert opinions". Criticism did cross a line and there's no doubt that this has an effect on the mental wellbeing of the players. 


Also Read: T20 World Cup 2022: Team of the Tournament