3 experiments Team India can try out in the remaining T20Is against West Indies
Team India beat the West Indies by 68 runs in the opening T20I of the five-match series at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, on Friday (July 29). In what was a clinical performance, the Men in Blue put up an impressive 190 for six after being asked to bat first before restricting their opponents to 122 for eight.
The visitors made some interesting moves in the first T20I. While Suryakumar Yadav opened the innings with skipper Rohit Sharma, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who usually comes on in the second half of the innings, was introduced inside the powerplay.
Speaking after the game, Indian captain Rohit admitted that the think tank wants to try out certain things during the series and see how it goes.
In the wake of the same, we take a look at three experiments that Team India can attempt in the remaining four T20Is against West Indies.
#1 Ravichandran Ashwin opening the bowling
While Ashwin has been picked for the West Indies T20Is, there is no certainty about his place in the T20 World Cup squad. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja are likely to get the nod ahead of him. However, Ashwin could come into contention if he can demonstrate some versatility with the ball.
In the past, he has bowled with the new ball in T20 cricket for India as well as the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), his former IPL franchise. Ashwin proved to be highly effective with his variations and smart tactics. However, he has been inconsistent in the format lately. To be a strong contender, he needs to prove himself in T20Is all over again.
Ashwin impressed in the first T20I against West Indies, claiming two for 22 in his four overs. He came to bowl in the fifth over of the innings and throttled the opposition batters. Team India can once again look to open with the off-spinner in a couple of games and see what he has to offer.
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The 35-year-old has improved his batting significantly in recent times. If he can bowl well at the start of the innings, the selectors and management will be forced to think about him seriously for the T20 World Cup.
#2 Deepak Hooda batting at No. 3
In the absence of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer has occupied the No. 3 spot in the ongoing series against West Indies. He had an impressive run in the ODI series, registering scores of 54, 63 and 44 before being dismissed for a duck in the opening T20I.
With four games remaining in the T20I series, India could give Deepak Hooda a couple of chances at the No. 3 position. The 27-year-old struggled in the ODI series, scoring 27 off 32 balls in the first game and 33 off 36 in the second. However, he was highly impressive before that during the T20Is against Ireland and England.
He scored 47* off 29 and 104 off 57 against the Irish side in Dublin before smashing 33 off 17 in the first T20I against the Englishmen in Southampton. Hooda was dropped for the subsequent games against England after Kohli became available.
Kohli is expected to remain the first-choice No. 3 batter for the T20 World Cup despite his woeful form. However, Team India will need more than one backup, just in case the star batter is unable to rise to the occasion at the mega ICC event.
Keeping the above in mind, Team India must ensure that, apart from Shreyas, they give enough game time to Hooda at No. 3 ahead of the World Cup in Australia.
#3 Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav bowling in tandem
The first T20 of the five-match series against West Indies saw the Men in Blue play three spinners in Ashwin, Jadeja and Bishnoi. On a track where there was ample assistance for slow bowlers, all three made an impact. While Ashwin and Bishnoi claimed two wickets each, left-arm spinner Jadeja chipped in with one while being economical.
The surfaces for the remaining T20Is in St Kitts and Lauderhill (two games each) are unlikely to be as spin-friendly. As such, we can expect India to go in with two spinners. Being a genuine all-rounder, combined with the fact that he has only just returned from injury, Jadeja is likely to feature in the remaining matches.
While Chahal has been rested for the T20I series against West Indies, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been picked in the squad after recovering from a hand injury.
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Team India could try out the spin combination of leg-spinner Bishnoi and Kuldeep in a couple of games by giving Ashwin a break. By doing so, the think tank can get a hint of what the duo can offer as a bowling combination in T20 cricket.
Also Read: 3 reasons why Arshdeep Singh is a serious contender for a T20 World Cup spot