T20 World Cup: Key Decisions on Kohli, Rohit, and Pandya’s Bowling Commitment Helped End India’s Trophy Drought

“Yes Jaybhai, I will bowl,” Hardik Pandya assured BCCI secretary Jay Shah over the phone. This simple promise played a significant role in the national selectors forming a winning team for the T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies. This conversation happened during an informal meeting at the May-June IPL, where Hardik, returning from a long injury break to lead Mumbai Indians, wasn’t bowling regularly.

A more critical decision regarding the team’s mainstays, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, was made by the national selectors and top BCCI officials at the beginning of the year. This early decision and their determination to stick with it, despite criticism, led to the assembly of the 15 players who won India a World Cup after more than a decade.

Before Ajit Agarkar became the chairman of selectors, India seemed to have moved past Rohit and Kohli in T20Is. Hardik Pandya was seen as the leader in the shortest format, and Shubman Gill was the opener. Agarkar and his committee were unsure about the timing of this T20 transition. Insiders talk about a conversation Agarkar had with Rohit.

“Rohit agreed immediately. He felt he could give one last shot in the T20 format. Given his current batting form, he believed he could push for one more season,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express.

Around this time, Kohli sought clarity about his T20I future. He too received a positive response. Kohli’s IPL performance and the relative batting struggles of Shubman Gill and Yashaswi Jaiswal earned him the opener’s slot. “With these three crucial pieces in place, the picture was clear. We just needed to put a plan together,” said a selector.

For that, they relied on data from the West Indies, where the latter part of the tournament would take place. Statistics showed that left-arm spinners were very effective in the Caribbean. “We noticed a pattern where left-arm spinners played a significant role in T20s in the Caribbean. On slow pitches, because they attack the stumps more, they were always in the game,” explained the source.

The selectors also used the template from Yash Dhull’s Under-19 team, which won the World Cup in the Caribbean in 2021. In India’s U19 victory, left-arm spinner Vicky Ostwal was the leading wicket-taker. The presence of S Sharath, who was the chairman of the junior selection panel that picked the victorious U-19 squad and was now part of the senior set-up, also helped.

India selected four frontline spinners – Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Yuzvendra Chahal – for the squad. At the World Cup, Kuldeep (10 wickets) and Axar (9 wickets) played significant roles in their unbeaten run. “One thing we are very pleased about is how the spin strategy worked. Although we didn’t have an off-spinner to make it complete, Kuldeep brought the ball into the right-hander. Leading up to the T20 World Cup, we were confident that left-arm spinners would impact the second half of the tournament,” said one of the selectors.

India also needed batsmen who could play spin well. With Sharma, Kohli, Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav among the regulars, and Jadeja and Axar in the lower order, the decision-makers had to choose the wicketkeepers and an extra batsman. For these two slots, India wanted role-specific players, a strategy that successful T20 teams worldwide have adopted.

Shivam Dube, the designated spin-hitter who could also bowl a couple of overs if needed, was brought in. Given Pandya’s fitness issues, India was cautious about a situation where he might break down in the middle of the tournament, as happened in the 50-over World Cup, affecting the team balance.

“Having role-specific players was something Rohit insisted on because, in the IPL, certain players had specific roles. But when it came to India, it wasn’t the same. They were either batting out of position or not given the right role,” the source added.

For the crucial wicketkeeper slot, the selectors chose players who offered multiple left-right options and could be flexible in their batting positions. Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson provided that flexibility and were capable of delivering when the team needed it.

Thus, a clear vision, reliance on data, and condition-specific selection played a significant role in ending India’s long wait for major ICC silverware.