The ICC ODI World Cup is all set to begin from 5 October, and teams have begun to draw up shortlists and finalise their squads for the tournament.
Australia and England announced their initial squads last month. While India announced their 15-member squad on Tuesday, the ICC has provided for teams to make changes until September 28 in case players sustain injuries.
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Hosts India announced their squad at a press conference in Kandy earlier on Tuesday, and while the main talking points revolved around the fitness of key players KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah there was certainly one role missing from the squad; a left-arm pacer.
It is not surprising that India have not included a left-armer in the squad, but it is tempting to wonder whether this could come back to hurt the Indian team.
Who are India's left-arm pace options? Arshdeep, Unadkat and more
India's three front-line seamers since the last World Cup have been very clear; Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Prasidh Krishna, another right-armer, has been an able deputy as well.
India have tried out five left-arm pacers since 2019, but none has played more than three ODIs in that time.
| Name | Innings | Wickets | Average | Economy Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khaleel Ahmed | 3 | 4 | 31.8 | 7.5 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 2 | 0 | - | 6.8 |
| T Natarajan | 2 | 3 | 47.7 | 7.2 |
| Chetan Sakariya | 1 | 2 | 17.0 | 4.3 |
| Jaydev Unadkat | 1 | 1 | 16.0 | 3.2 |
Going by these numbers, it is difficult to see any of these players pushing Shami, Siraj or Bumrah for a spot in the Indian XI. But the variety of a left-arm pace option in the squad could have been valuable.
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Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mitchell Starc, Mustafizur Rahman: India's opponents are stacked in the left-arm pace department
In stark contrast to India, nearly every team has a left-arm pace option who is likely to make the World Cup squad. Mitchell Starc (Australia) and Sam Curran, David Willey and Reece Topley (England) have already been confirmed in their respective teams' preliminary squads.
Here is a look at every World Cup team's most used left-arm pacer since the last World Cup:
| Name | Country | Innings | Wickets | Average | Economy Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mustafizur Rahman | Bangladesh | 36 | 45 | 29.4 | 4.9 |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 25 | 47 | 26.1 | 5.4 |
| Shaheen Shah Afridi | Pakistan | 22 | 42 | 23.5 | 5.3 |
| Sam Curran | England | 21 | 24 | 35.7 | 5.7 |
| Fazalhaq Farooqi | Afghanistan | 20 | 32 | 25.9 | 5.5 |
| Fred Klaassen | Netherlands | 15 | 22 | 27.4 | 4.5 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 11 | 23 | 19.1 | 4.2 |
| Marco Jansen | South Africa | 9 | 10 | 45.7 | 5.8 |
| Isuru Udana | Sri Lanka | 8 | 9 | 48.6 | 6.8 |
Eight of these nine players are likely to play in the World Cup while Sri Lanka could still include Dilshan Madushanka in place of Udana, who has not been in favour recently.
In addition to the fact that the Indian top-order tends to struggle against left-arm pacers, India could potentially be losing out on a competitive edge compared to the other teams, as this is one avenue of attack they will simply not be able to utilise.
MORE: Why do Indian batsmen struggle against left-arm pacers?
There is no doubting the quality of the pacers picked in the current squad, simply that there is a lack of variety.
