Samson to be ‘Dropped’, Jaiswal to Make Debut? Here is India’s Probable Playing XI for 3rd T20I vs West Indies
Mukesh Kumar picked up the dangerous Nicholas Pooran's wicket in the 2nd T20I vs WI (AP Photos)
Only six designated batsmen and two genuine all-rounders were included in India's 15-man squad for the five-match series against the West Indies. The Men in Blue anticipated that the West Indies would be a weaker opponent and that they would not face many difficulties in the Caribbean.
However, after the first two matches of the series, their worlds have been turned upside down.
Now that the Men in Blue are trailing 0-2 and need to win all three remaining games to pull off a stunning comeback, Rahul Dravid and co. must make some bold decisions before taking the field on Tuesday for the third T20I in Guyana.
Openers: Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal
Ishan Kishan had scores of 6 and 27 in the ongoing WI series (AP Photos)
The first and most crucial thing that India has been struggling to achieve is to get off to a flying start. In the second T20I, the Men In Blue only managed to score 34 runs during the powerplay and 28 in the first five overs before that.
To put things in perspective for the viewers, the West Indies scored 61 runs in the Powerplay the last time around and 54 the time before that, proving that other teams can play aggressively on that surface.
India’s primary concern is Shubman Gill’s back-to-back failures. Given his impressive records in the IPL 2023, the 23-year-old's scores of nine-ball three and nine-ball seven in the T20Is were genuinely surprising. He is expected to be dropped to make way for Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had a spectacular Test debut earlier in this tour. Ishan Kishan, meanwhile, is likely to keep his position.
Middle-order: Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel
SKY and Hardik Pandya are yet to have their best outings in the ongoing T20Is (AP Photos)
Now comes the fun part. India has been falling terribly behind in picking up the pace in the middle overs, and their middle-order batters, except for Tilak Varma, have only themselves to blame. However, they don’t have anyone to replace them, as they have seven designated bowlers on their roster.
Therefore, it is unlikely that India will make any changes to their middle order. If they do, their already shaky batting lineup will disastrously crumble unless they choose to play either Gill, Kishan, or Jaiswal out of position.
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar
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Kuldeep Yadav is likely to return to the mix in the 3rd T20I vs WI (AP Photos)
With the hope of having a bigger impact after Kuldeep Yadav's unexpected injury, India gave Ravi Bishnoi a chance in the second T20I. The leg-spinner did not do much, conceding 31 runs from his four overs without any success, albeit his four-ball eight cameo was crucial.
Bishnoi is set to be benched again, and Kuldeep, in all likelihood, will be back in the mix to form ‘Kulcha’ with Yuzvendra Chahal. The pace duo of Mukesh Kumar and Arshdeep Singh are likely to maintain their positions as well.
India's probable playing XI vs WI for third T20I: Ishan Kishan (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya (C), Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar
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