On Sunday night, India didn’t use Washington in the role he was designated for, as they went Arshdeep Singh (three overs), Jasprit Bumrah (two) and Varun Chakravarthy (one). This may have made the decision look purely about who bowls through the middle overs, in which case Axar may have seemed a no-brainer.
“But the strategy was built around that initial assessment,” ten Doeschate explained. “In a tournament like this, you want – and expect – players to understand that every decision is made with the best intentions: to pick the strongest XI for that particular game. I hope Axar sees it in that spirit as well.”
Ten Doeschate went to great lengths to explain that their decision to pick Washington over Axar wasn’t made on impulse, nor was it a reflection of Axar’s capabilities.
“A key part of today’s strategy was how well he [Washington] has bowled in the powerplay in T20 cricket,” he said. “The idea was to go in with three frontline bowlers plus Washington, with two others sharing the fifth-bowler’s role. Winning the powerplay was going to be crucial. We had envisaged Washington bowling two overs up front, not necessarily being 30 for 3. That early position then gives you flexibility with the bat as well.
”In hindsight, you could argue that leaving out a batter and playing an extra frontline bowler might have been the right call. But when you’re making decisions in real time, we felt we needed Rinku as, effectively, an eighth batting option. That was the thinking behind the combination.
“It’s certainly not a reflection on Axar – his leadership and importance to the team are unquestioned. But this is the challenge we face almost every week: fitting 11 players into a squad of 15. It’s not easy, and we have to make sure we get it right for the next two Super Eight games. “On balance, given that we expected most of the threat to come from left-handers, and that we wanted the extra batter, it came down to a straight choice between Washington and Axar. And we went with Washington.”
Reflecting on the position India find themselves in, ten Doeschate felt while they may have “messed up on a grand scale”, they needed to quickly put the loss behind them and not let the the magnitude of defeat and emotions come in the way of apportioning blame only on certain individuals.
“Very disappointed in the performance,” he said. “But, when you set up or set out to win a World Cup, don’t expect someone to come deliver the World Cup to you halfway through the competition. So we understand we’ve made a lot of mistakes tonight. We understand you’re probably allowed one mess up in this phase of the competition.
“And we’ve messed up on a grand scale and now the onus is on this group of guys to turn around and put in two solid performances against Zimbabwe and West Indies. Obviously with the way the group goes, you need at least four points to get through now, and it’s going to need two big performances and a big bounce back from everyone involved.”
Shashank Kishore is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
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