T20 World Cup: Ravi Shastri has a word of caution for defending champions

The countdown to the T20 World Cup at home has begun for defending champions India, and former head coach Ravi Shastri feels the pressure of playing at home could be one of the few impediments in the way of them becoming the first team to defend the title. Suryakumar Yadav & Co. begin their campaign against the US — who surprised in its World T20 bow at home in 2024 — in Mumbai on 7 February.

The shortest format had been India’s calling card ever since the World T20 triumph under Rohit Sharma, with a remarkable 32-5 win-loss record, while it has not lost any bilateral series or tournament. Compare that with stunning reverses at home in Tests against New Zealand and South Africa, along with the ODI series losses in Australia as well as to the Kiwis at home recently, and the current T20 team looks most settled and India's best bet.

“When you’re defending your title and you're playing at home, there is pressure and it comes from nowhere,” Shastri, a leading TV pundit, told ICC media. “You have a bad 15 minutes, a bad 10 minutes in a T20 game, it can decide the outcome of the game. And often, you lose those 10 minutes or 15 minutes because of pressure. So, it’s how India handles that pressure, the way they start the tournament. If they start well, even if there is a hiccup on the way, they have got depth in batting to pull them out of it.”

“I think the defending champions start as clear favourites,” Shastri said. “Man to man, current form, match fitness, the amount of cricket they have played in recent times, makes them clear favourites. And especially when you look at that top order and the kind of form they’re in.”  

Shastri believes the selectors have managed just the right mix of youth and experience to take them to another triumph. “There’s less baggage on a lot of players (Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma). They're playing their first World Cup and it’s an opportunity for them to express themselves,” Shastri said.  

“There’s Jasprit Bumrah, there’s Hardik Pandya — who I think is in terrific form at the moment and the ability for him to contribute with bat and ball. Shivam Dube has come along nicely,’’ Shastri broke it down.

Dube, a member of the 2024 trophy-winning team, contributed with a blazing half-century which included three fours and seven sixes in an inconsequential fourth T20I against New Zealand on Wednesday night.

The hosts suffered a 50-run defeat for their first defeat (they had already taken an unassailable lead), but the 32-year-old allrounder looked forward to contributing more as a seam bowler in the middle overs. ‘’I am bowling thanks to Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) and Surya. They have given me the bowling opportunity. So, I am working on that as well and yes, I am trying to develop some more skills,’’ the Mumbai player said. The Men in Blue figure in the fifth T20I in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, their last official game before the showpiece.  

 There is a lingering question mark over the availability of Tilak Varma, whom the team preferred to rest for the final two T20Is against the Kiwis. ‘’India will be hoping for Tilak Varma to be fit because he is a terrific player. And again, being a left-hander, the top of the order will make a difference,’’ Shastri felt.  

It’s no brainer that spin prowess will hold the key during their campaign and Shastri felt it’s impossible to match India’s trio in terms of class and experience. “I think spin will play an integral part (in the tournament). And India has got enough ammunition in that spin department. There’s (Varun) Chakaravarthy, there’s Axar Patel, there’s Kuldeep Yadav. When you look at variety, players at the right positions and balance, India can defend this title,” Shastri said.

 India have been drawn in Group A along with the USA, Pakistan, the Netherlands and Namibia.