A disappointing Asia Cup 2022 campaign exposes India’s many T20I flaws: Player Ratings for India
India will be eager to forget their Asia Cup 2022 campaign as soon as they can, for the most successful team in the competition could not make it to the final. They won three of the five matches they played across both the group stage and the Super Four stage and finished third in the Super Four standings.
Let us check out the report card of the Indian players:
Top Order
Rohit Sharma (7/10): Skipper Rohit Sharma was not very consistent, but overall, his campaign was satisfactory. He scored 133 runs in four matches, maintaining an average of 33.25 and a strike rate of over 150. He had a poor start, scoring only 12 runs in his first game against Pakistan.
But since then, we have seen a gradual improvement. Sharma scored 21 in the second game, 28 in the third, and then played his best knock against Sri Lanka, where he led from the front and scored a fighting 72.
KL Rahul (5/10): Barring the last match against Afghanistan, which was a dead rubber contest, KL Rahul has had a tournament to forget. The opening batter scored 132 runs at an average of 26.40 and a strike rate of 122.22.
He registered two single-digit scores – a duck against Pakistan and 6 against Sri Lanka. His knock of 36 runs against Hong Kong came at a strike rate of less than 100, but the knock of 62 runs against Afghanistan deserves praise.
Virat Kohli (9/10): India has not gained a lot from this Asia Cup, but one positive that the fans will cherish for a long time is Virat Kohli’s return to bat. Without any doubt, Kohli was India’s best batter in this tournament, scoring 276 runs at an average of 92 and a strike rate of 147.59.
Virat Kohli was India’s leading run-scorer
He scored a couple of half-centuries – against Hong Kong and Pakistan. While those knocks were special in their own rights, nothing comes close to his 71st international century, which came in the last match against Afghanistan.
Middle Order
Suryakumar Yadav (7/10): Coming into this competition, Suryakumar Yadav was India’s most in-form batter. From that aspect, his performance might not look particularly impressive, but 139 runs at an average of 34.75 and a strike rate of 163.52 are not subpar either.
One of Yadav’s main drawbacks in this competition was his consistency. His best performance was a scintillating half-century against Hong Kong, while the knock of 34 runs against Sri Lanka was also crucial. However, barring that, he could not cross the 20-run mark in the other matches.
Rishabh Pant (3/10): Rishabh Pant did not justify his selection in the team, and especially with Dinesh Karthik also fighting for a place in the playing XI, Pant has not done himself any favour in terms of being India’s first-choice wicket-keeper at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.
He scored only 51 runs in four matches, which came at an average of 25.50 and an unimpressive strike rate of 124.39. Pant’s best score was an unbeaten 20 in the last match against Afghanistan.
Dinesh Karthik (6/10): It will be harsh to give Karthik a rating, for he did not get a chance to do anything significant in Asia Cup 2022. He faced only one delivery despite playing three matches, which was against Pakistan.
The veteran wicket-keeper did not get a chance to bat against Hong Kong and Afghanistan, but quite surprisingly, he was given an over to bowl against Afghanistan. It did not go as Karthik would have wanted to, as he ended up conceding 18 runs.
All-rounders
Hardik Pandya (6/10): Hardik Pandya’s campaign was a tale of two halves – with a fantastic opening scene but a really disappointing climax. Overall, he scored 50 runs at an average of 25.00 and a strike rate of 156.25, whilst with the ball, he picked up four wickets.
He had an excellent first match against Pakistan, where he scored unbeaten 33 runs and also picked up 3 crucial wickets. But in his next two matches, Pandya could only pick up one wicket and score 17 runs.
Ravindra Jadeja (6/10): Ravindra Jadeja was looking in fine form, but unfortunately, an injury ruled him out of this competition and has also jeopardized his participation in the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup.
He scored 35 runs in the first match against Pakistan. In the second match against Hong Kong, the 33-year-old Saurashtra all-rounder could not get a chance to bat, but he did pick up a wicket.
Deepak Hooda (4/10): Deepak Hooda’s case is pretty much like Pant’s, for the Indian team management trusted him ahead of a plethora of other options in the same position, but he could not do anything to prove why it was the correct decision.
The 27-year-old scored only 19 runs in the three matches that he played, at an average of less than 10 and a strike rate of barely over 100. However, he did pick up a wicket against Afghanistan.
Axar Patel (5/10): Axar Patel was called into the team following Jadeja’s injury. Though he could not make it to the playing XI for the match against Sri Lanka, the team management gave him a chance in the last match against Afghanistan.
The 28-year-old all-rounder did not get a chance to show his batting prowess, but he did bowl all of his four overs. Although he does not have a wicket to show for it, Patel conceded only 24 runs in those overs.
Bowlers
Yuzvendra Chahal (6/10): Yuzvendra Chahal’s numbers in Asia Cup 2022 are not bad, but considering he is India’s trump card when it comes to the spin department, the management might have higher expectations from him. He picked up 4 wickets in as many matches at an economy rate of 7.93 runs per over.
Yuzvendra Chahal was not seen at his best
He was subpar in both matches against Pakistan – conceding 75 runs in eight overs and picking up only one wicket. Chahal’s only good performance in this competition came against Sri Lanka, where he picked up a three-wicket haul.
Ravichandran Ashwin (5/10): Given that many questioned his selection in the team, Ravichandran Ashwin needed to produce something spectacular to shut his critics down. However, that was not to be, as his performance was not anything more than decent.
In the two matches that he played, the veteran picked up 2 wickets, though his economy rate of 7.37 runs per over deserves praise. Besides that, he scored quickfire 15 runs, which came at a strike rate of 214.28.
Ravi Bishnoi (7/10): Ravi Bishnoi must have felt hard done after the conclusion of India’s campaign, for his performance should have earned him more than one opportunity. He was included in the team in the second match against Pakistan.
The young leg-spinner did not put a foot wrong in that match, picking up a crucial wicket and also conceding only 26 runs – at an economy rate of just over 6 runs per over. However, he was dropped for the next two matches.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8/10): Bhuvneshwar Kumar might have bowled poorly in the penultimate overs against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, but if we keep those two overs aside, he bowled 17 spectacular overs and was undoubtedly India’s best bowler in this competition.
In five matches, Kumar picked up 11 wickets at an average of only 10.45 and an equally impressive economy rate of 6.05 runs per over. In the last match against Afghanistan, he got a five-wicket haul.
Arshdeep Singh (6/10): It is rather unfortunate that Arshdeep Singh might be remembered for the dropped catch of Asif Ali in the second meeting against Pakistan. However, when it comes to solely his bowling, the youngster did not do much wrong.
In five matches, Singh picked up as many wickets, though his economy rate of 8.62 runs per over is on the higher side. His best performance was in the first match against Pakistan, where he scalped 2 wickets.
Avesh Khan (4/10): Avesh Khan’s form would be a real cause of concern for India, as with Jasprit Bumrah’s availability not confirmed, the team management would be eager to find the best third pacer. The speedster picked up 2 wickets in the two matches that he played.
However, what will really bother the think tank is his economy rate – 12 runs per over. In the match against Hong Kong, the 25-year-old pacer conceded more than 50 runs while picking only one wicket.
Deepak Chahar (4/10): Deepak Chahar came into the team as Avesh’s replacement, and interestingly, he did not look in the best of forms either. He was given a chance in India’s last match against Afghanistan, where Chahar failed to pick up wickets.
Though his economy rate of 7 runs is satisfactory, it should be noted that barring Patel, Chahar was the only Indian bowler to bowl all of his four overs and return with no wickets.