The Nidahas Trophy showed India is significantly ahead of its smaller neighbours ©AFP

In a tournament of little significance, and strained watching, a few things stood out. India's batting reserves are rich, spin always has someone within hailing distance but pace options are like a receding hairline; you know there is something there, but not quite as much as you would like!

Dinesh Karthik's stylish finish will become part of Indian cricket's folklore and India must find a way of making the most of this excellent phase he is going through. He is a proper batsman, not just a finisher and batted too low in the tournament. India has to look at Karthik through new eyes not the clouded vision of the past.

Raina's presence lifts the batting, not just because he is left-handed but because he finds a way of scoring runs in any situation. But I think there is much more to Raina than someone who throws his bat at everything. I realise that the contemporary approach to T20 batting is to keep going ahead all the time but if Raina bats 40 or 50 balls, he can win matches. At the moment he is providing thrilling cameos. We want to see more, as batsman and bowler.

India is currently headed into slightly worrisome territory in that there are no overs available from those that bat in the top six. That will change once Hardik Pandya returns but a top six batsman who provides two overs per game is a huge advantage. But because he didn't bowl enough, India demanded too much from the whole-hearted Vijay Shankar and in doing so, entered every match with too few overs in the bank. Against tougher situation, it would have been a dangerous approach.

But while India's batting reserves will be the envy of the most, the bowling stocks appear much thinner. India pulled out 16 overs from their number one side (Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah, Kuldeep and Pandya) and that was always going to be difficult to fill. But by doing so, the selectors gave Unadkat and Thakur a great opportunity to play a bigger role and they will be the first to admit they only provided glimpses of authority.

I think Unadkat let go an opportunity. He had been hugely impressive last year but the reliance on the slower ball and the cutter is making him predictable. Far too many bowlers have had a year or two of glory being that kind of bowler and have faded away as people lined up for the slower ball. India can't let that happen with Unadkat because he is a rare left-handed option in a country where every seam up bowler is right-handed. At the IPL, I will look for the quick in-swinger in the early overs and for the ball banged hard into the deck because that will make his cutters more lethal.

Shardul Thakur looked really good in South Africa where he gave his captain another seam bowling option in the middle and end overs. In Sri Lanka he blew hot and cold with the expensive over lurking dangerously close. By bowling as perfectly as possible, Washington Sundar took away a lot of pressure in the power play and allowed Thakur to bowl with the protection of fielders in the deep. I think he likes that and with a very good knuckle ball that swings away, and a pretty good bouncer, there is much promise there.

But it is clear that India will rely heavily on Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah and given that they will now play in all three formats, back-up bowling will be needed. Mohd Siraj had another poor game but he will be watched closely at the IPL as will Basil Thampi, Siddharth Kaul and Umesh Yadav.

I enjoyed watching Washington Sundar. There seems so little to him at first sight but he uses what he has so beautifully. Not a single batsman was able to go after him and to achieve an economy rate of under six bowling largely with just two fielders outside the circle was a colossal achievement. Batsmen will now plan ways of countering him and that will make watching him at the IPL even more thrilling.

So we are done with the Nidahas Trophy, a tournament plonked in the middle of a crowded calendar but really, devoid of any context. It showed India is significantly ahead of its smaller neighbours who, actually, had more to gain from its staging than India did.

And so to the IPL, the world's foremost T20 cricket laboratory. I can't wait for it to start.

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