3 unanswered questions ahead of India's T20I series against West Indies
Team India's current focus is undeniably on ODI cricket at the moment, keeping the upcoming World Cup on home soil in mind. However, a sub-plot develops on the sidelines as well in the form of a five-match T20I series against West Indies in conditions that the team will experience in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
The intrigue behind the series ramps up as it features new faces like Mukesh Kumar and Tilak Varma while stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma miss out yet again. India will play T20Is against Ireland, Australia, South Africa, and Afghanistan in the build-up to the T20 World Cup, which is slated to be played in June 2024.
Since the 2022 edition of the tournament, India have lost a couple of matches during the home season against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, but have walked away with the series after being 1-0 down across both instances. The management has repeatedly expressed its desire to revamp the team's T20I blueprint.
A young squad has been given the responsibility of showing how they can introduce India to an attacking brand of cricket, something which a majority of players have already adopted with their respective IPL franchises.
On that note, here are three unanswered questions ahead of India's T20 series against West Indies.
#1 Will India embrace a new attack-minded approach from the word go?
Team India's approach in the shortest format has been a widely and rather hotly debated topic. The team vowed to embrace aggression following their humiliating exit from the 2021 T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
While they did stay true to their word and embrace aggression, they were back in their shells with their timid approach when it eventually mattered. The outdated approach was one of the several reasons behind India's semi-final exit at the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Now with senior players seemingly phased out, there is optimism over a revamped approach. Such a change was not entirely seen during the home season, but the tour of the West Indies might finally be the place where it all begins. The selections of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma, who are capable of playing in such a fashion, are very good signs.
The onus will be on Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, as the tempo they set while facing the new ball will dictate the rest of the proceedings.
#2 Spoilt for choices in the leg-spin department; who will make the cut?
Axar Patel is certain to mark his presence as the spin bowling all-rounder and if Hardik Pandya features as a bowler too, then it is possible for the team to play two leg-spinners.
Spin has found immense success across Tests and ODIs on the tour so far and there is no reason why it cannot be true for the shortest format as well. The Men in Blue currently have three leg-spinners in their squad (Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, and Kuldeep Yadav), and realistically a maximum of two can make it to the playing XI.
Bishnoi last played during the 2022 Asia Cup and had taken eight wickets in three matches in his last series against the West Indies away from home. Kuldeep Yadav has been in fine rhythm, but there is a huge question mark over Yuzvendra Chahal.
India's leading wicket-taker in the format has slid down the pecking order and also did not have the best of IPL campaigns a few months back.
#3 Will Hardik Pandya bowl with the new ball in overseas conditions as well?
A common trend during Team India's home season was Hardik Pandya taking the new ball. The ace all-rounder has been able to swing it both ways under the light in subcontinent conditions.
Hardik has taken the new-ball responsibilities since Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not considered in the scheme of things while Jasprit Bumrah is recovering from his injury. It will be interesting to see whether Hardik continues with the responsibility in overseas conditions as well. He did open the bowling in the recently concluded ODI series in the Caribbean.
The current squad has Mukesh Kumar and Arshdeep Singh as new-ball bowlers while Umran Malik can operate in the middle overs if selected.
What will be the final series scoreline for the T20I series between India and the West Indies? Let us know what you think.