India selected the strongest available roster for the Asia Cup to test how they fared against good teams under tournament pressure. They were supposed to make the final but did not, indicating that there are still issues to be worked out. Here we can see some of India’s questions from Asia Cup 2022.

India lost the toss – a huge factor in Dubai, dew or no dew – in all three Super 4s matches and was asked to bat first each time. They ran both Pakistan and Sri Lanka close but couldn’t cross the line in either game.

Things came together for India in the dead rubber against an emotionally weary Afghanistan team, but they’ll be mindful that their middle-overs batting and death-over bowling still need some work.

With the selectors meeting next week to choose a squad for the home series against Australia and South Africa, as well as the T20 World Cup, here are a few observations from India’s recent performance.

Search For a Complete All-Rounder aka Replacement For Jadeja

Over the last year and a half, India has backed Axar Patel as Jadeja’s all-weather alternative. However, when it came time to cash in on that investment, India took a completely different path and chose Hooda instead. Because to Jadeja’s absence, India was forced to field Rishabh Pant in order to have at least one left-handed batter in the top six. Karthik was laid off to facilitate this move. Pant had a disappointing campaign with the bat, recording scores of 14, 17, and 20* in three appearances.

Who is the Third Seamer if Not Avesh Khan?

Hardik Pandya roared into the tournament, bowling with pace and venom. In the team’s first encounter, his short-ball trick had Pakistan gasping, but when Avesh Khan became unavailable and India needed the allrounder to step up as a third seamer, things didn’t go so smoothly.

Hardik scored 8-0-79-1 as India failed to defend 181 and 173 points, respectively. India’s campaign was over by the time they promoted Deepak Chahar from the reserves to the starting XI.

India will very certainly have Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel available for the Australia series and the T20 World Cup. That means Hardik will return to his customary role as the sixth bowler, which he thrives at.

Find Solution for Practical Big Hit

Kohli ended his century drought with his first T20I century, Rohit Sharma smashed a bruising 41-ball 72 against Sri Lanka, and KL Rahul recovered from a slow start to the tournament to regain form and fluidity in the later games. If the top order was a concern going into the competition, they appeared to have resolved it by the end.

Despite India being down to 13 for 2 in three overs against Sri Lanka, Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav continued to play solid cricket. Even if the top three didn’t always go all out from the start, there was a concerted effort to be as aggressive as possible. No more constructing platforms for the middle order to profit on. This had an unintended consequence.

Need to Find a Designated Finisher

We have to be clear, if Jadeja is not there and Rishabh Pant doesn’t look reliable even after being given so many chances he doesn’t fit in the role of finisher. After MSD and Yuvraj Singh, India hasn’t seen a perfect finisher. Hardik Pandya does the job right but he needs a partner and the solution seems to be in Dinesh Karthik. He has had a history of doing it and doing it right. He is the experience a team needs to form correct balance. With him in the squad, we can have balance and a reliable finisher.

Third Spinner Dilemma

Yuzvendra Chahal had an average campaign but kept India in the game against Sri Lanka with three wickets. His bowling style may be a huge benefit on bigger grounds like Australia. If Jadeja is unable to play in the T20 World Cup and Axar is named as his replacement, the selectors may be forced to choose between R Ashwin’s expertise and Ravi Bishnoi’s novelty.

Both players performed admirably in their short Asia Cup appearances. Bishnoi’s stock ball is the googly, and he is quicker through the air and off the field, which Pakistan struggled to adjust to as the chase became frantic. Ashwin more than held his own in containing Sri Lanka following a strong start to their pursuit. It will be difficult for the selectors to choose between them.

Well there is still a lot but this looks more technical and urgent to work on. The deadline to submit the squad for T20 World Cup is 16th September and we hope we have a squad that fills all the voids we had in Asia Cup 2022.