New Delhi: India's batting in the middle overs, between 7 and 15, is the main area of concern ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has concluded after reviewing the team's forgettable outing at the Asia Cup.
The showpiece will be held from October 16 to November 20 and India's first match is against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23.
On Monday, the BCCI announced the team for the marquee event along with the six T20I matches against Australia and South Africa, starting September 20.
However, apart from the squad selection, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah along with the national selection committee did discuss the underwhelming performance of the national team during the continental championship.
"Yes, the Asia Cup performance was discussed. But obviously, more than problems, the focus is on solutions and what are the things that needs to be improved during the T20 World Cup," a senior BCCI official privy to developments told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
While there were a few issues, all agreed in unison that India's pedestrian batting approach in the middle overs is becoming an issue against better teams and was a problem during the Asia Cup.
"There is an obvious issue with batting during the middle overs, especially between 7th to 15th where we haven't done well in the Asia Cup. Obviously, the team's think tank is aware and we have some world-class players, who can obviously change their game as per team's needs," the official said.
If one looks at India's batting, whether while setting a target or chasing, they have faltered between overs 7 and 15.
Against Pakistan in the opening game, 59 runs were scored in those nine overs losing three wickets. Against Hong Kong, it was 62 runs, while in the Super 4 game against Pakistan it was 62/1.
The Indians managed 83 runs against Sri Lanka in the middle overs for the loss of two wickets.
The problem has been negotiating the slow bowlers, where some of the top order players haven't been up to the mark.
