3 harsh truths India needs to accept after 3-2 T20I series loss vs West Indies
The 3-2 T20I series loss to the West Indies should be a wake-up call for the Indian team, who in less than a year will be travelling to the same destination to play the T20 World Cup.
While the focus for this year remains on the ODI World Cup, the series against the West Indies has somewhat exposed some gaping holes in the Indian T20I setup. One might argue that captain Hardik Pandya also did not use the resources that he had at his disposal properly enough.
Pandya said after the series loss that sometimes it is okay to learn from defeats. On that note, here are the three harsh learnings that Team India needs to come to terms with if they want to have any hopes of winning the T20 World Cup next year:
#3 Batting depth is crucial in T20 cricket
Before last year's T20 World Cup, captain Rohit Sharma had been vocal about the Men in Blue wanting to change their brand of cricket and play more aggressively. While the results didn't show in the showpiece event and while the selectors decided to move away from senior players, the problem that remains is the team combination.
In the five T20Is, India arguably had their batting only till Axar Patel at No. 7. While the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi showed shades of promise, the Men in Blue largely lacked depth in their batting which cost them two games.
They need to have a look at the likes of Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, etc. who can not only bowl but also use the long handle to get those lusty blows in. Coach Rahul Dravid accepted this issue after the series and fans would hope that India work on this and find the right players.
#2 India need to invest in a specialist finisher
The problem of finisher in the Men in Blue's T20I side has been there for a while as seen with them trying to bring back Dinesh Karthik for the role. His inconsistency saw them searching once again for a solution, and they did seem to trust Sanju Samson for the series against the West Indies.
But both Samson as well as Hardik weren't quite able to be consistent and convincing enough in that role. Captain Hardik should rather contemplate batting at No. 5 and maybe invest in a finisher like Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma. Both Rinku and Jitesh are natural finishers as seen in IPL and domestic cricket and all eyes will be on them during the Ireland T20Is.
#1 Take a call on Yuzvendra Chahal in T20Is
There was quite an uproar on social media from fans as well as former cricketers when Yuzvendra Chahal wasn't picked in India's XI for the T20 World Cup last year owing to team combination. However, Chahal himself hasn't been able to perform consistently ever since getting back into the side.
Being rather inconsistent as a fielder and not a massive contributor with the bat, Chahal seems to be backed on his primary skill to try and take wickets. However, the leg spinner was smashed to all parts of the ground in the final T20I and that was the case for most of the series.
With the likes of Ravi Bishnoi and other spinners around who can not only field better but also bat better than Chahal, it is time that the team management takes a call on the latter's T20I future.