Left-heavy batting under scrutiny as off-spin threat looms in Super Eight
Chennai: India’s fragile top-order remains one of the talking points as they gear up for their must-win Super Eight game against Zimbabwe in the ICC T20 World Cup. India stacked their top-order with left-handers — Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma — and their inability to secure brisk starts, coupled with opponents’ strategy of pinning them down through off-spin match-ups, has emerged as a glaring chink in their armour.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if off-spinners Sikandar Raza or Brian Bennett open Zimbabwe’s bowling on Thursday, should India persist with the Ishan–Abhishek combination. Whenever the duo opened the batting in this World Cup, India didn’t really make it big in Powerplay — their highest being 52 runs in six overs. More alarmingly, at least one opener fell for a duck on all four occasions. The middle order repeatedly did the rescue act during the league phase, but against South Africa the fault lines widened dramatically, culminating in a heavy defeat.
The pattern has been consistent. In the World Cup opener against USA, India found a saviour in skipper Suryakumar Yadav after Abhishek departed for a first-ball duck and the side slumped to 46 for 4 inside the Powerplay. India were 52 for 1 against Pakistan, 51 for 2 against the Netherlands and 31 for 3 against South Africa.
They were under pressure in every Powerplay except against Namibia, when Sanju Samson opened alongside Ishan. In Abhishek’s absence in New Delhi, Sanju’s eight-ball 22 — laced with three sixes — set the tone as India raced to 85 for 1 in six overs, their highest of this tournament.
Abhishek, despite an impressive aggregate of 777 runs at an average of 33.78 over the last year, has managed just 15 runs in his last four outings and has registered ducks in five of his previous eight innings. Tilak Varma, another left-hander, averages 21.4 in this World Cup at a strike rate of 118.88. Rinku Singh, batting at No. 8, has chipped in with just 24 runs at a strike rate of 83.
To break the monotony of left-handers at the top, India could consider recalling Sanju. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate hinted at the impending selection dilemma after Sunday’s defeat. Would India persist with the players who have delivered over the past 18 months, or tweak the template?
“Sanju’s a fantastic player and obviously helps tactically by having a right-hander at the top of the order. I’m sure that will be a talking point over the next few days going into these two very important games,” he said.
Yet bringing Samson is hardly a straightforward call. Since 2025, the Kerala batter has struggled for consistency as an opener, scoring 156 runs in 12 innings at an average of 13, with a highest score of 37. In those 12 appearances, he has survived the Powerplay only twice.
