The Indian Premier League 2024 is in full flow. It is the only cricket competition everyone is talking about at the moment. But again, the T20 World Cup is also right around the corner and it won’t be too long before every involved nation starts announcing their squad, with the tournament starting on June 1.
It is being reported that India are likely to announce their 15-member squad by the end of April. Now, their batting unit is not completely fixed but they have at least a couple of options for every slot. There are quality options to pick from and the same could be said about the spin department. What about the seamers, though?
If fit, Jasprit Bumrah will lead India’s bowling attack. The ace paceman has been in great form since returning from his injury and seems to be in great rhythm in the ongoing IPL. Mumbai Indians have leaked runs at 10.3 so far in the tournament, however, his economy has been just 6.3.
With the World Cup happening in the West Indies and the USA, there’s a high possibility that India won’t have more than three seamers in their squad. When it comes to the playing XI, Bumrah will be the first name on the list. There will always be a question mark over Hardik Pandya’s fitness but he could easily play the role of the third pacer.
Hence, India would need someone around them in the XI and one as back-up in the squad. There are contenders for these two spots, but most of them haven’t been in the best of form. In this article, we look at those options and what they have been up to in IPL 2024.
THE FRONT-RUNNERS
(Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar)
If there was no IPL before the T20 World Cup, there’s a high possibility that two of the aforementioned three would have made the main squad. Arshdeep and Mukesh have played the most number of T20Is amongst Indian seamers since the last World Cup. Meanwhile, Siraj has often been rested because of being an all-format player but has always been in the mix. The problem, though, is none of them have produced quality numbers.
Bumrah is your all-phase bowler, while Hardik can bowl a bit in the powerplay and middle overs. Hence, the third paceman needs to be someone who takes the new ball and bowls an over or two at death. Mohammed Shami would have been a perfect fit but there is no update on when the 33-year-old will return from his ankle surgery.
Arshdeep has played 25 T20Is since the last World Cup, 11 more than Mukesh. The left-arm seamer has 33 wickets @ 23.1 and has given runs away at an economy of 9.1. Arshdeep’s graph has only gone down in the last couple of years, and the 25-year-old has become way too unreliable. He was a different beast in 2021 and 2022, maintaining an economy of 7.8.
He finished IPL 2022 with an economy of 7.9 in the 16-20 phase and seamlessly replicated the same at the international level, maintaining an economy of 7.2 at the death across his first nine T20Is. However, he has now turned into a run-leaking machine at the death. Since 2023, Arshdeep has been terrible across all three phases. Even in the ongoing IPL, he has an economy of at least 9 in every phase. Then there is Mukesh, who has been even more mediocre.
He lacks consistency. 12 wickets in 14 T20Is at an average of 34.33 and an economy of 9.39 isn’t something to be proud of. He doesn’t have an economy of less than nine in any of the three phases. Amongst bowlers (top-10 sides) who have bowled at least 30 overs in T20Is since 2023, Mukesh has the third-worst average. He had a great game against CSK, bowling those wide yorkers and picking up 3/21 in three overs, but was also hit for 49 runs against Rajasthan.
It’s difficult to understand why he is part of the T20I set-up in the first place. Siraj has a better record than these two and is likely to partner Bumrah in the XI, although the 30-year-old is way too inconsistent for someone with his experience. He had a good IPL 2023, picking up 19 wickets at an economy of 7.5. However, things haven’t been the same this IPL.
After four games, Siraj has an average of 52.3 and an economy of 10.5. He has an economy of 12 in the powerplay, 11.7 in the middle overs and 7.6 at death. His numbers in the final overs have been pretty good but India would want him to pick wickets with the new ball, and that’s where he will have to improve. And if he can do that, Siraj will easily leapfrog Mukesh and Arshdeep to get into the World Cup squad.
THE ONES WHO HAVE BEEN AROUND
(Avesh Khan, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik)
Harshal and Umran are only on the list because they have played two and five T20Is, respectively, since the last WC in Australia. Both of them have fallen way off the radar and it’s highly unlikely that the selectors will even think of them while selecting the squad. Umran, who had an economy of 10.9 in IPL 2023, has bowled only one over this edition and went for 15 runs. He hasn’t even been starting for SRH, so there is no way he is getting picked for the T20 WC.
Harshal would have been handy in those conditions in the West Indies, only if his record wasn’t horrible of late. Having been released from RCB, Harshal managed to get a contract from PBKS but has been all over the place in the first three games. Three wickets @ 45.7 and an economy of 11.4 – these are not the numbers that would get you anywhere close to the Indian set-up.
What about Chahar? He is an exciting option, only if he remains fit, and that’s a big if. The biggest 'if' there was ever one. Someone who can take wickets with the new ball and is also a capable batter down the order, Chahar is the type of player India need, but we all know his history with injuries. In IPL since 2023, he has taken 13 wickets in the powerplay and also has an economy of 7.3 in the middle overs.
Chahar hasn’t done much this season – three wickets @ 35.7 and an economy of 8.9. There will always be an injury concern and you won’t get anything from him in the death overs, which is not the case with Avesh. He doesn’t have great numbers in T20Is but has started the IPL 2024 on a better note than others. The 27-year-old has bowled five overs at the death, operating at an economy of just six. He even defended 16 runs in the final over against Tristan Stubbs and Axar Patel, giving away just four singles.
If Avesh can keep up this form, the right-arm paceman from Madhya Pradesh could make a serious case for himself. He is probably the only one from this list who has a chance of making it through to the T20 WC squad.
WILDCARD ENTRIES
(Mayank Yadav, Mohsin Khan, Mohit Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma)
Now, these are pacers who have either not played a single T20I for India or have been out of the national set-up for many years. The main reason why we are talking about them is because the bowlers mentioned in the first two lists haven’t done enough to cement their spots in the World Cup squad. So, let’s start with players who have some international experience.
Mohit has played eight T20Is, with the last one coming in 2015. The 35-year-old has been a revelation for GT since last season. 33 wickets @ 13.8 and an economy rate of 8.1 – those are superb numbers for someone who has bowled almost 50 % of his overs at death.
In this period, Mohit has taken the joint-most number of wickets (19) in the death overs while going at an economy of just 8.5. What makes him special is the number of variations he has at his disposal and that could come in handy in the West Indies. With him in the XI, India could also give Bumrah two overs in the powerplay. And if they don’t want to do that, maybe someone like Khaleel could prove to be useful.
The left-arm pacer can swing the new ball but has a history of being inconsistent. He has an economy of 6.9 in the powerplay since last season. Howbeit, you are not getting much from him in the last two phases, especially at death. Mohsin has 20 wickets in the IPL and 14 of those have come in the last phase, that too at an economy of just 6. He is a more complete bowler than Khaleel but his fitness is a major concern.
Sandeep is someone we don’t often talk about despite him being a consistent performer for Rajasthan since 2023. We have always known that he can move the ball in the powerplay but Sandeep has now sort of become a designated death bowler for RR. He bowls those tough overs and, more often than not, does the job for his team.
Yes, we have saved the best for the last – Mayank Yadav. The 21-year-old has played only two games in the IPL but there are so many people, including the pundits, who want him in the T20 World Cup squad. Why? Because this lad can easily hit 150 kmph and has wreaked havoc with his pace. In the two games he has played, Mayank has also shown that he has enough control over his pace and can keep adjusting his lengths.
3/27 in the first game against Punjab and 3/14 in the next against RCB – Mayank has dismissed the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green. Those are some decent T20 batters. He is still very new to this level of cricket and maybe we are looking far too ahead.
But you never know. A couple of more matches like this and Mayank’s name could come up in that selection meeting.
There are two breeds that are very rare in Indian cricket – one is a fast-bowling all-rounder, and the other is a pacer who can hit 150 kmph. We have seen it in the past, with Hardik and Umran being fast-tracked to the Indian set-up.
Something similar could also happen with Mayank.
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