Team India’s recent experimentation have looked a bit surprising. With less than two years to go for the next World Cup, the team is still far from settled and the way the team management is experimenting extensively, one is compelled to question whether the team is preparing for the next World Cup or is it thinking too ahead, probably the 2023 World Cup.
The turn of events certainly points that way. Which team would continuously rest two of its best spinners to make way for youngsters who are yet to prove their mettle? Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja need no explanation as far as their abilities are concerned. Both the spinners have not only proved themselves in Tests but have also an envious track record in limited-overs cricket board. Moreover, they had already proved their worth in England when they played integral roles in India’s Champions Trophy triumph.
Because England is a tough place for spinners, it is more than likely that the team will not gamble with the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav for the next World Cup and would bank on the experienced duo of Ashwin and Jadeja. So does this indicate that the team is already eyeing the 2023 World Cup? Well, no one can confidently rule out its possibility.
The Men in Blue have currently relied on Chahal and Yadav, and recent signs are indicating that they are going to persist with the duo in the coming days. However, it is highly unlikely that Chahal and Yadav will keep Jadeja and Ashwin out of the team for a long time which means that the youngsters would have played close to 30-40 games at most when the next World Cup arrives. And relying on such inexperienced spinners for a tournament like World Cup that too in England looks a bit absurd and there is every possibility that the spin department would be spearheaded by Jadeja and Ashwin who are currently second and third-ranked Test bowlers.
The likes of Manish Pandey and KL Rahul have been tried out in recent times, but the fact that Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina have been asked to prove their fitness at the National Cricket Academy is a significant indication that the team is still eyeing its old horses and is grooming the youngsters for the future.
Not only that, even Kohli will have experience of fewer than two years by the time next World Cup arrives and probably he is also eyeing the World Cup after that. Well, only time will tell the team’s plans but going by the recent turn of events, one can say that the think tank is looking beyond the next World Cup.