In the current five-match Twenty20 International series between India and New Zealand, bowlers are rotated, according to bowling coach Morne Morkel, not just to manage their workload but also to keep rival teams from planning their strategies for the T20 World Cup.
In the three Twenty20 Internationals against the Kiwis thus far, India have used a variety of bowling combinations, with pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and lead spinner Varun Chakravarthy being rested at various stages.
Ahead of the fourth T20I against New Zealand in Visakhapatnam, PTI quoted Morkel as saying on Tuesday, “We’ve got a handful of bowlers that can bowl in every situation. Part of the thinking for us, leading into the World Cup, was to look at different combinations. We don’t want teams to have set plans against us.”
“I think at the moment, we’re doing that quite well. If teams start to plan against us, they don’t know where we’re going to fit and how we’re going to play our cards. For us, it is important to give guys that opportunity in that role, to get comfortable in those roles,” he added.
India’s T20 World Cup schedule, which calls for them to play in venues as diverse as New Delhi, Mumbai, and Colombo, is one of the factors driving the thinking, according to Morkel.
“Because of the conditions we might face on the day, we’ll go up with different game plans. But, yeah, to have that quality in our bowling attack that allows us options is always a great place to be. Again, we’re going to use those guys as best as the conditions tell us on the day — in terms of who’s the best bowler to go towards a particular batter,” he added.
According to Morkel, India was able to experiment with the bowling combination because of the presence of all-rounders Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya.
“For us, it’s about getting those bowling partnerships, getting that sorted for the World Cup. We want to try and get teams down, six, seven, eight (wickets) down by the 15th, 16th over. So, how we can plan that with our bowling attack to get those wickets is going to be important. We’ve got 11 match winners. And that’s a nice position to be in.
“Everybody has got a certain X factor about them. So, yeah, for us it’s just to keep on having good, clear communications about their roles. And then they also know, the buy-in for this team is that there’s no guarantee of starting in the 11,” said Morkel.
Axar bowled at the nets on Tuesday night despite having a finger injury from the first match at Nagpur. Talking about his contribution to India’s T20 team, Morkel said, “Axar can bowl at all phases of the game, with the new ball upfront and the power play in the middle. We know how we can use him.”
The manner in which Pandya is gearing up in preparation for the T20 World Cup also pleases the former South African pacer.
“I think Hardik is showing his class with the ball in this series. He’s looking extremely fit and his body is in good shape, which is a massive bonus for us. Unfortunately, so far with the way we’ve been batting, he’s sort of lacked that time in the middle. He’s really focused on putting in a great performance for the team. Just to have his experience in the changing room is a massive plus point, bonus for us.”
Going into further detail about the effort Pandya has been putting in his bowling, Morkel said, “He’s bowling at high speeds. Even on the last night, in the last game, on that surface, he’s got some good bounce. So there’s definitely a lot of energy behind his ball at the moment, which is great to see.”
Morkel claimed that he and top pacer Bumrah had a good working relationship. Morkel stated that he is providing India’s pace spearhead with a shoulder to relieve the pressure, going beyond the technical aspect.
“Jasprit is the best bowler in the world, highly skillful. But at the end of the day, everybody needs somebody to talk to, somebody to offload. The pressure he faces every time he steps onto the field… there’s always a lot of expectation on him to go and perform and bowl that magical spell, win the game for us in the death.
“As a bowler, sometimes that burden that you carry can take its toll. We all just need somebody to communicate. And for me, I always check in with Bumrah to make sure he’s comfortable, if he’s agreeing with our plans.
“…Just to get him in that good mental space, because you know he’s world-class and it’s like a car, a Ferrari. If you can get the engine and the oil and all of that running well, the car will perform,” he added.
