3 changes Team India should make for the 3rd T20I vs West Indies
Team India have never lost a five-match T20I series before, having played four of those assignments prior to their ongoing rubber against West Indies.
Heading into the third T20I at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Tuesday, August 8, the Men in Blue are facing the prospect of that spotless record earning a black mark. The hosts have clinched both the contests thus far, although they were close encounters that could've gone the other way at various junctures.
Without much success in the series thus far, India are bound to consider making a few tweaks to their playing XI. While they don't have many batting options on the bench, barring one man who'll feature later in this piece, a couple of bowling switches could be in order.
Here are three changes India should make for the third T20I against West Indies.
#3 Kuldeep Yadav for Ravi Bishnoi
Kuldeep Yadav missed the second T20I after being hit on the hand while batting in the nets, with Hardik Pandya stating that his exclusion was a precautionary measure. Given the manner in which the Indian skipper described the injury, the spinner could have reached full fitness once again.
If he's fit, Kuldeep should walk into the Indian side for the third T20I. He has an excellent T20I record, with 47 wickets in 29 matches at an economy rate of 6.69. The left-arm wrist-spinner's bowling average of 14.59 is also sensational.
More importantly, Kuldeep is one of the few bowlers in India's side who has a positive head-to-head record against Nicholas Pooran, who has plundered over 100 runs at a rapid rate in the series so far. He needs to prise out the explosive Windies southpaw if India are to stage a comeback.
With Yuzvendra Chahal picking up four wickets in the first two matches, Kuldeep could replace Ravi Bishnoi, who went wicketless in the second T20I despite bouncing back from an 18-run first over.
#2 Avesh Khan for Mukesh Kumar
Mukesh Kumar impressed all with his yorkers in the series opener, but his lines and lengths were way off in the previous game. The fast bowler was India's most expensive bowler on the night, dishing out way too many full-tosses and short balls.
Mukesh has never been the most reliable T20 bowler and has also played most of India's games on their tour of the Caribbean thus far. It could be ideal for him to be given a breather, in which case Avesh Khan could enter the fray.
Although Avesh doesn't have a great record in the T20I format and has been in indifferent form of late, his ceiling is much higher than Mukesh's. India need to look at the bigger picture and back the 26-year-old ahead of the Bengal seamer in white-ball cricket.
#1 Yashasvi Jaiswal for Ishan Kishan
With their batting misfiring in both games so far, India will definitely need to consider the possibility of bringing in Yashasvi Jaiswal. The southpaw had a breakthrough season in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) and also hammered some runs in the preceding Test series against West Indies.
Jaiswal could replace any of Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. While Samson is the most expendable of the trio, he bats in the middle order, where none of the challengers to replace him will fit in. Gill, meanwhile, smashed a T20I century against New Zealand only two innings ago.
So Kishan, who has played all the games of the tour so far, could be the man to make way. He doesn't have great numbers in T20I cricket and hasn't been at his best this series, even though he struck a couple of big blows in the previous game.