The Men in Blue start their campaign against the USA on February 7 and have been placed in Group A alongside Pakistan, Namibia, the Netherlands and the USA. In the run-up to the tournament, India have leaned significantly on their spin attack, which has played a key role in their recent success.
Karthik acknowledged that India’s record in the T20 format has been phenomenal, especially in a format that can be unpredictable. However, he warned that no match will be easy in a tournament of this magnitude, and stressed the importance of addressing key areas such as bowling at the death.
“The Indian team is in a very strong position at the moment. As we sit here, they have won 29 of the 36 matches they have played in T20 cricket after the World Cup, which is a phenomenal record. In a very fickle format like T20, where setbacks are the norm, this level of consistency is remarkable. Winning 29 of the last 36 matches they have played is, in my opinion, very difficult to replicate. For a start, it tells you about the strength of the team,” Karthik said on JioStar’s ‘The Experts’ View.’
“They have also played a very good Asia Cup in the recent past and have gone past Pakistan in the final, beating them three times out of three. If you look at the size of this group, you have India, Pakistan and then there are three associated countries who are still finding their way at international level. You would expect India or Pakistan to beat them, but the beauty of this format is that you cannot walk into any game thinking it will be easy,” he added.
For India, Varun ChakrabortyKuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel completely dominated the proceedings with their spin bowling. Among India’s top five wicket-takers since their 2024 T20 World Cup victory, Arshdeep Singh is the only fast bowler, with 31 wickets in 20 matches. Chakravarthy was exceptional, leading the Indian bowling attack with 53 wickets in 27 matches at a remarkable average of 13, which put him at the top of the wicket-taking charts.
“You lose the toss, you are bowling, and suddenly you think this could be a challenge at the back. You have to get an above-average score to give yourself a chance to defend under the dew. So I would say India are in a very good place,” Karthik said.
“Death bowling is a concern. I think it is a challenge because of the way they stack their eleven. When they played in the subcontinent, they went with (Jasprit) Bumrah, Hardik (Pandya) as second pacer and Shivam Dube at third, while backing their spinners heavily. Sometimes when the game goes deep, especially when they are defending a total, the back end can become a challenge,” he added.
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