Team India’s multi-faceted batting covers all bases

Just five days from now India and Pakistan will reignite their cricketing rivalry on the field capturing the attention of several hundred million viewers With the comeback of prolific middleorder batters the Men in Blue are determined to finetune their performance for the upcoming ODI World Cup and aim to secure an eighth Asia Cup title this yearThe muchanticipated tournament will be a major opportunity for Indias key batsmen Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul Both players are returning to the field following thigh and back surgeries and this event will provide them with invaluable time in the middle to regain their formConcerns have been raised about Rahuls recent form casting doubt on his position within the Indian setup A strong performance in the Asia Cup is poised to swiftly put an end to these discussions Both Rahul and Iyer require match practice ndash the former has been sidelined since his injury during IPL 2023 and Iyers last appearance was during Australias tour of India in MarchShreyas has been declared completely fit Rahul not his original injury but theres a niggle which is why Sanju Samson is travelling as reserve chief selector Ajit Agarkar said as reported by PTI Well get a report from the physio at some stage but we all expect him Rahul to be fit If not at the start by the second or third game but hes on trackAlso Read Team Indiarsquos number four conundrumPacer Prasidh Krishna impressed one and all in the Ireland series Emerging lefthanded batsman Tilak Varmarsquos stunning performance during the T20I series against West Indies garnered widespread praise and it is safe to say that the Indian team management trusts his abilities to further boost the batting setupHowever having said that it can be considered with reasonable conviction that at least seven players including the likes of Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Shubman Gill Suryakumar Yadav Hardik Pandya Ravindra Jadeja Jasprit Bumrah Mohammed Siraj are lockins in the starting XI for the World Cup unless the board decides to throw up a surpriseIndia has opted to rely heavily on wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav with legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal being a notable omission from the squad However allrounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja are Indiarsquos other spin bowling optionsThe GillRohit chemistryKL Rahul was the incumbent opener in the last Asia Cup but has not played competitive cricket since May Cricket pundits have regarded him as Indias most prolific opener in the last five years in T20 Internationals and the IPL While Gills partnership with skipper Rohit has been prolific amassing 685 runs at an average of 7611 in nine instances of batting together in the 50over format Their combined tally maintains an average partnership of 8537 excluding their sole partnership when not opening for IndiaHow will the middle be formedGoing by the usual norm Virat Kohli should slot in at three given his experience However it was initially suggested that the former India captain could be dropped to the fourth spot for India to add batting depth to the middle order This way it could empower the top three to go harder with the middle order adding crucial 5060 runs to generate a big total But with Rahul and Iyer back in the fold the board need not sweat much over the need to tinker with the top three batters Then there is PandyaJadeja who could complement the duo as the sixth and seventh options One must also expect to witness a great deal of fluidity in terms of batting depending upon the conditions and match situationsAs Rohit himself explained Flexibility is important But it doesnrsquot mean we send an opener at number 7 or send Hardik Pandya as an opener In the last four years Kohli has batted at number 3 The new guys at number 4 and number 5 players need to be flexible Even in my careerhellipwe all have done that Thatrsquos the flexibility I am talking aboutrdquoIndia opt to go seamheavyWith only three frontline spinners in the squad India has opted to rely heavily on their seamers during the tournament including Krishna Bumrah Mohammed Shami Siraj and Shardul Thakur So much so that the management could also find it difficult to accommodate most of them If the World Cup is taken into consideration it is no secret that the side can feature not more than four pacers The Asia Cup will partially determine who will be firmly back in contention on Indias World Cup team sheetThe sixnation Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and Pakistan begins on August 30 with the match between Pakistan and Nepal in Multan The final is scheduled for September 17 in ColomboTeam India squad Rohit Sharma capt Shubman Gill Virat Kohli Shreyas Iyer KL Rahul Hardik Pandya Ravindra Jadeja Jasprit Bumrah Kuldeep Yadav Mohammed Siraj Mohammed Shami Ishan Kishan Shardul Thakur Axar Patel Suryakumar Yadav Tilak Varma Prasidh KrishnaReserve player Sanju Samson wicketkeeper