Despite the format’s popularity, it is fair to say bilateral Twenty20 internationals are not the newest fad in town. The sheer amount of effort and perseverance required to win a Test match gives importance to even dead rubbers. Bilateral ODIs are still a series, and 100 overs is a long enough duration for narratives to develop. Twenty20, more than any other format, needs a larger context: two points that might push you up a league table or a win that might save you from elimination from a World T20. Bilateral T20 series are played either at the end or start of a long tour almost as an afterthought; they are usually so unimportant that teams hardly bother with getting visas for their T20 specialists.
However, these two, to be played over a weekend in Lauderhill in Florida, between world champions West Indies and the team they beat in the World T20 semi-final, India, are different. They carry an important context. While this is not the first time international cricket is being played in America, India v West Indies two regions with large expat population there is way bigger than New Zealand playing Sri Lanka or West Indies.
Cricket economy mostly runs around India. So when India go to America with all their delegates, when they sell the TV rights, when they sell the trophy rights, it becomes a big experiment for the future of cricket. This could even be a test run for a second IPL, a mini version, in America going forward; CPL has already had a stint in America that can’t be termed unsuccessful.
While these two matches are huge for the cricket economy and its globalisation – in terms of staging and not participation – the cricket carries more subtext than your usual bilateral Twenty20 internationals. Who can forget Darren Sammy’s impassioned speech after he led West Indies to their second World T20 title? Well, the WICB wants you to forget the man himself. He has been dropped despite his stellar performance in the CPL. Leading them now is Carlos “remember the name” Brathwaite.
West Indies’ T20 success is down to their individual professionalism rather than the administration. Dropping an inspirational leader such as Sammy is not the first time the establishment has been less than conducive to their best performance; can they continue to excel regardless?
India’s leader, on the other hand, is a man much relieved because he is not playing Tests anymore, but that means whatever limited-overs cricket he leads India in becomes extra important for him. He has not tasted first-hand the joys of beating Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies in Tests recently. Over the last year the two highlights for him have been the Asia Cup win and perhaps the Twenty20 series win in Australia. When a player doesn’t get chances in all formats, his shortcomings in the only formats he plays can get magnified. The home series defeat to South Africa, and his failure at finishing off a chase against Zimbabwe means people will keep raising questions if he is going to be around for the 2019 World Cup.
India are likely to draft Mohammed Shami back in looking at his impressive comeback in Tests. Jasprit Bumrah should play. The other quick bowler could be a toss-up between Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav, depending on how much batting they need from the said bowler. It will be interesting to see how Dhoni goes with his spinners given how he wasn’t very trusting of R Ashwin’s offspin in the World T20 and in the IPL.
India 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 KL Rahul, 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 7 Stuart Binny/Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 8 Ravindra Jadeja/Amit Mishra, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Shami
Sunil Narine is back with a cleared action, and should take Suliemann Benn’s place.
West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Lendl Simmons, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Kieron Pollard, 9 Carlos Brathwaite (capt.), 10 Sunil Narine, 11 Samuel Badree