3 areas of concern for India from the T20I series vs Sri Lanka
After securing T20I whitewashes over New Zealand and West Indies following their disappointing 2021 T20 World Cup campaign, India continued in the same vein by blanking Sri Lanka 3-0. By claiming the third T20I by a six-wicket margin on Sunday, Rohit Sharma's men extended their win streak in the format to a record-equalling 12.
There were several positives for India from their T20I series win over Sri Lanka. Shreyas Iyer walked away with the Player of the Series award as he registered the highest-ever run tally in a three-match bilateral T20I assignment. The 27-year-old wasn't dismissed in any of the three matches either.
However, there were also a few issues that were raised as India build towards this year's T20 World Cup in Australia. Here are three areas of concern the Men in Blue will have to address in the immediate future.
#3 India's selectors and team management have some tough calls to make
Shreyas' form was a massively encouraging sign for India, but it also threw up a few interesting questions. Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli are considered indispensable parts of the T20I playing XI, and all three batters weren't in action against Sri Lanka.
When the trio, apart from sidelined names like Hardik Pandya, return, Rohit and the team management will have a real task on their hands. Deepak Hooda, Venkatesh Iyer and Sanju Samson haven't done much wrong in the recent past either and will undoubtedly be in the mix.
India have selection dilemmas in the bowling department as well. They have an enviable pace battery that is complemented by several in-form spinners, with the team combination being a massive talking point while selecting the best XI. While this is a problem India won't be too unhappy about having, the selectors and the team management can't avoid a repeat of the 2021 T20 World Cup selection fiasco.
#2 Rohit Sharma's approach at the top of the order has been uncertain
The only player to have featured in all 12 of India's consecutive T20I wins, Rohit Sharma has led the team admirably since taking over from Virat Kohli. His bowling changes and field placements have been spot-on and he has also managed to hand out chances to a plethora of fringe players.
However, while Rohit remains one of the team's most important batters, he has yet to find his ideal approach at the top of the order in the powerplay. Batting alongside the likes of Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul and Sanju Samson, India's skipper hasn't been able to strike the right balance between attack and defense.
In the three T20Is against Sri Lanka, Rohit was tormented by Dushmantha Chameera, who has now dismissed him six times in the format. He failed in each of the last two matches of the series, playing nothing shots and leaving his middle order with some work to do.
Rohit appears to be in decent nick and is invaluable to India's T20I chances, but he needs to understand the ideal way to go about attacking the new ball. Finding and sticking to a stable opening partner might be the first step towards the 34-year-old becoming his consistent self again.
#1 India's death bowling unraveled in the final two T20Is
After easily sealing the opening game of the series by a 62-run margin, India copped some stick at the death in the remaining two T20Is. In the last five overs of their innings, Sri Lanka scored 80 and 68 respectively, with captain Dasun Shanaka doing the bulk of the damage.
Harshal Patel wasn't as successful as he usually is at the death, while Avesh Khan and Mohammed Siraj were expensive in the one over each they bowled in the third T20I. Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered a little in the second game, too.
India need a reliable name to partner Jasprit Bumrah in the slog overs, something they couldn't find in the T20I series against Sri Lanka. They might have to rethink their bowling plans for upcoming assignments.