World T20 2022: Can Rohit's Team India repeat the Dhoni magic of 2007

The business end of the championship starts today with the Super 12 stage

Once upon a time M S Dhoni was known for his iconic hairstyles as much as his unconventional cricketing techniques; Pervez Musharraf was Pakistan’s president (who had advised Dhoni to keep his golden-streaked locks); and the ‘great recession’ of 2008 was still months away. It was sometime in that era – September 24, 2007, to be precise – India last won the Men’s T20 World Cup, the inaugural flagship event of the International Cricket Council (ICC).    

A lot has changed since then: Dhoni has retired from international cricket; Pakistan has seen several leadership changes; and the world is staring at another recession after being battered by an unprecedented pandemic. However, India have failed to add another T20 World Cup trophy to their cabinet – 15 years, 27 days and counting.

The runners-up in 2014, a semi-final loss to eventual champions West Indies, as hosts, in 2016, and not much to show for 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2021 – that’s the Indian record in the ICC World T20 Championship.  

Rohit Sharma, the current Indian captain, and Dinesh Karthik were there in South Africa in 2007; Virat Kohli would debut almost a year later. Rohit knows what standing on the podium means as a novice, but what about as a captain?

His credentials in T-20s are well known; he led Mumbai Indians to five Indian Premier League (IPL) titles. Also, he has an envious team, which can go the metaphorical distance from the towering Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) – where things begin for them against Pakistan on Sunday – back to the MCG, which will host the November 23 final.

Sharma, K L Rahul, Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav as top four are sublime on any given day. However, the openers are a tad vulnerable to a left-arm pacer’s in-swinging delivery, while Kohli pokes at that out-swinging widish one when not in great form. Good news is Kohli has returned to form at the right time – he has scored 404 runs in his last 10 T20 matches, all this year, including a hundred and three 50s.

Sharma also has the luxury of two wicket-keeper batsmen, Karthik the finisher and Rishabh Pant the swashbuckling destroyer. They are followed by the cerebral all-rounder Hardik Pandya, giving India the flexibility to play two spinners – from R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, and Axar Patel, or from an off-spinner, two leg-spinners and a left-arm spinner, respectively.

It’s the third department, though, which looks thin with Jasprit Bumrah ruled out due to a back injury. Bhubaneswar Kumar seems to have lost his edge – in his last seven T20s, he has bowled 26 overs, conceded 206 runs, and taken 12 wickets. Mohammad Shami, the Bumrah replacement, last played a T20 game over a year ago. Though his yorkers are menacing, Bumrah is in a different league. The new pacers -- left-armer Arshdeeep Singh and right-armer Harshal Patel -- are effective but virtually untested on a world stage.

And, that’s where this Indian side will be targeted by the likes of arch-rivals Pakistan. In the last three T20s that the two sides have played, it’s 2-1 in favour of Pakistan.  

A look at India’s group and the road to the semi-finals doesn’t look a tall order, on paper at least, but this tournament so far has been all about upsets as Ireland showed on Friday by eliminating the only two-time T20 champions -- the West Indies. The 2007 champions have Bangladesh, South Africa, The Netherlands, and Zimbabwe for company.  

A win against the ‘lesser’ Dutch and Zimbabwe, and two against any of the rest in Group 2 should make things comfortable for the Indian side. But predicting T20 cricket is like completing a puzzle with missing pieces.

What can be predicted, though, is that India would have had to sweat more, had they been in Group 1 with the likes of hosts Australia, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Ireland.

In a mouth-watering start to the Super-12 stage, defending champions Australia take on New Zealand as they renew their trans-Tasmanian rivalry once again. The usual Pat Cummins versus Kane Williamson or Mitchell Santner versus Glenn Maxwell contests get proliferated when it’s a World T20 encounter.

There are favourites, Australia and India, and dark horses, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Then there are the mighty England. With the talismanic Jos Buttler at the helm, the stage is always set for an explosive beginning. With Johnny Bairstow, Alex Hales, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali to follow, fireworks are sure to go on and on.

The T20 extravaganza goes Down Under for the first time in history, and it’s sure to be a riveting one. Eyes will be on India, no matter what, but can they have their hands on an ICC trophy which has eluded them for almost a decade now – the Champions Trophy in England in June 2013 remains their last.