With a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the IPL, online betting in India must focus on the T20 World Cup scheduled to take place from October 2020, in Australia. Nobody is sure whether the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held. BCCI Chairman Saurav Ganguly has said that even if the tournament happens, it could be a shortened version. Some team owners are said to be resigned to not having the competition at all this year.
Brilliant Preparation by India
The Indian team is considered among the favourites to win the title this year. The reason is not hard to see. The Men in Blue have gone about in right earnest to prepare for the ICC event. India's preparation for the T20 World Cup can be said to have officially begun in August 2019 during a tour of the West Indies. India won all three matches against the defending champions for a dream beginning to their title bid. Since that first series win, Virat Kohli's wards have played 16 more matches against various rivals, winning 12, and losing just three, with one game washed off by rain. After a 1-1 draw against South Africa, India experienced a rare loss to Bangladesh in the opening match of another home series before they set things in order by winning the next two. That series was followed by another three-match affair against the visiting West Indians. After a hard-fought win in the first match, the Indians faced a setback in the next when the Caribbeans levelled the series, but the home side went on to win the series 2-1 after a masterly showing in the third. Then came a three-match series at home with Sri Lanka, the first of which was washed out. India prevailed in the next two to register another convincing series win. That was followed by India's tour of New Zealand. After winning the first two matches of a five-match series, the visitors faced a tough challenge from the hosts. The scores in the third and fourth matches were tied, but India managed to win both those in Super Over deciders. Another tight win in the fifth made it a perfect 5-0 whitewash for India.
Rahul is the New Dhoni
At the start of the season, India faced a problem of plenty at the top of the order, with the presence of three opening batsmen answering to the names of Sharma, Dhawan and Rahul. Playing one of them at number three would mean pushing Kohli down the order away from his most effective slot. The problem solved itself when Rahul replaced Pant as wicket keeper and slotted in at number five in the batting order. With his explosive batting down the order, Rahul has proved to be the perfect replacement for Dhoni, something Pant did not quite manage to become.
Next Generation Players are Here
The preparatory matches gave the Indians the room to experiment with such young fast bowlers as Saini and Thakur, who could take over from a senior such as Shami or Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in the event of an injury to senior player. Shubam Dube, Manish Pandey, Samson, Washington Sunder and Shreyas Iyer were all given sufficient room to express themselves at the international level. Happily for India, most of the youngsters stood up to be counted.
While the IPL would have given India the opportunity to find the perfect combination of in-form players, the preparatory games have helped many players to select themselves. If all of the following players are injury free at the time of the World Cup, they should walk into the Indian squad: Sharma, Dhawan, Kohli, Iyer, Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Jadeja, Chahal, Bumrah, Shami, and Kumar. Saini, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sunder are the most promising candidates for three of the remaining four spots. But who will the 15th player be? Will it be a batsman (Pandey), a fast bowler (Thakur), an all-rounder (Dube) or an additional keeper (Pant)? I would opt for Pant. While Thakur and Pandey did have their moments in the sun, and Dube proved to be more effective with the ball than with the bat, a back-up keeper makes a lot of sense, as the squad already has enough resources in the other areas. Pant could yet provide India with the winning edge at the world cup.
A Treasure Trove of Talent
Looking at the likely squad, India must fancy their chances of becoming the next world champions in the shortest form of the game. The cricketing giants from the sub-continent have much going for them: the return from injury of Bumrah and Hardik, the perfect man for the number four slot in the form of Iyer, and an exciting new fast bowling option in Saini. The cup floweth over!