It’s time for Indian cricket to bet on horses for courses

India started the tournament with a spectacular win over Pakistan. Virat Kohli's knock was exceptional, but he waited too long to make the lethal charge. The powerplay is critical for the batting side to achieve initial momentum. India's strike rate was better than only one team, UAE. In the England game on Thursday, India was 38 for one at the end of six overs, while England scored 63 for no loss. In T20 World Cup, the team's strategy seems to have been to get a steady start rather than a flying one. New Zealand changed 50-over cricket for all time in 1991-92 World cup.

Suryakumar Yadav is ranked No. 1 in the world in T20s. He should be given more time at the crease.

In T20 cricket, the best strategy is to hit the ground running and keep sprinting. The team management should insist that the first three batters should not worry about their wickets and try to score at eight runs plus per over. Suryakumar Yadav should be promoted up the order. Hardik Pandya should become the next T-20 captain. He won the last Indian Premier League in his first season as captain with a team playing its first IPL on a much lower budget than most other teams. He is naturally aggressive. It's time to look at the specific requirements of each of the three formats and select the right strategies and players for these.

Sandipan Deb is a former editor of ‘Financial Express’ and founder-editor of Open and Swarajya magazines.