Kohli’s form the worry as India meet Canada in waterlogged Florida

India’s passage to the Super 8 round of the T20 World Cup has been confirmed, but there are a few creases to be ironed out before the important phase of the tournament starts. And for a team that has not won the T20 World Cup since 2007, any chance to fix glitches is a massive one. 

India end their first round campaign with a match against Canada in Lauderhill on June 15, where a tropical disturbance has brought a rare flash flood emergency and left many parts of southern Florida waterlogged. More rain is forecast for the rest of the week, with some areas getting a further 15 centimeters of rain, which does not look good for cricket. Should this match be washed out, India will take seven points into the Super 8 but crucially, they will have lost the chance to get some key players back to form.

Top of the list is Virat Kohli. India’s biggest crowd-puller has managed nine runs in three innings at the World Cup, his most recent failure being a golden duck in the win over USA in New York this week. Kohli has been promoted to open and his aggressive approach has seen him caught on the offside in all three innings. Rohit Sharma told this writer before the match with Pakistan in New York on June 9 that barring the openers, the rest of India’s 11 will have to be flexible. That statement has now become problematic given Kohli’s three failures, because if the team management now decides to bat him back at his customary No 3 spot it would been reshuffling the order and potentially upsetting the apple cart. 

Rishabh Pant has two good knocks out of three when batting at No 3 this tournament, but there is room for India to take the decision to have Kohli at his preferred role and Pant back at No 4 where he has spent most of his T20I career. There is a fine line between being rigid and flexible in T20 cricket, and India have to decide what to do ahead of the Super 8 stage. 

The second problem is Ravinda Jadeja. The allrounder, 36, has not scored a run of taken a wicket in the World Cup. He has batted once, out for a golden duck, and his three overs have produced 17 runs (he did not bowl in the last match). India have played two left-arm spinners in Jadeja and Axar Patel while keeping their premier white-ball spinner Kuldeep Yadav on the bench. Jadeja has not contributed, which brings focus on his role when the Super 8s begin in the West Indies. 

India want to bat deep, but they will also need a wicket-taking spinner in round two of the World Cup. Axar has so far been the container and a source of wickets, but do India need a similar asset in the West Indies? Kuldeep’s record there is superior to Jadeja’s and it seems unthinkable that he will not get a look-in at some stage. So, should the Canada match happen, the dilemma is whether to give Jadeja one more shot or see what Kuldeep has to offer on short notice.

India’s four pace options have played every game so far, with Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya the team’s joint highest wicket-takers with seven apiece. Jasprit Bumrah was the leader in the wins over Ireland and Pakistan and Mohammed Siraj, without the wickets to show for, has improved with each outing. Suryakumar Yadav has been scratchy and nowhere near his best, but he did stand up to be counted for in a tricky chase against USA. In that same match, Shivam Dube scored a plucky unbeaten 31 off 35 balls but doubts linger of his ability. Sanju Samson is one option, unless India opt to bat Kohli at No 3 and bring in Yashasvi Jaiswal to open.

Canada, after losing to Pakistan, are not out of the competition but need two points, as well as USA to lose to Ireland, to stay in it. The rain, however, is what threatens to have the final say in Florida.