3 Indian players who will be under pressure during the Australia T20I series
Team India's focus will now shift from the Asia Cup to the 2022 T20 World Cup, which will be preceded by the T20I series against Australia and South Africa. Understandably, the squads for the two assignments consist of players who are in the scheme of things for the marquee ICC event Down Under.
Arshdeep Singh will sit out the Australia series, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya have been given a breather for their encounters against the Proteas. Names in the reserves for the T20 World Cup, like Mohammed Shami and Deepak Chahar, will be in the reckoning. With India's playing XI for the World Cup yet to be decided, a few players will need to be at their best against Australia.
Here are three Indian players who will be under pressure during the T20I series against Australia.
#3 KL Rahul
KL Rahul, despite being the vice-captain of the side, isn't in a comfortable place right now. He did score a fifty in India's final game of the Asia Cup, but Virat Kohli's performances while opening the batting in T20 cricket have raised questions over his place in the side.
Heading into the T20I series against Australia, Rahul is definitely under pressure to prove his worth at the top of the order. India have two solid opening options beside him, with others like Rishabh Pant also capable of performing the role. To make matters worse for the 30-year-old, his record against the top T20I teams over the last two years has been nothing short of miserable.
Rahul will need to score runs against Australia, and he'll need to score them at a good clip.
#2 Yuzvendra Chahal
A player who has established himself as the team's first-choice white-ball spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal hasn't lived up to his billing in international cricket over the last two years. The team management and selectors clearly have faith in him, with Chahal having been picked over the impressive Ravi Bishnoi in the main squad. But he has rarely taken more than one wicket in a T20I since 2019.
Chahal is considered a wicket-taker, but both his average and his strike rate aren't particularly impressive. He hasn't been able to replicate his Indian Premier League form for the national team, and his usual style of bowling has been found wanting against quality opposition.
With options like Ravichandran Ashwin part of the squad, Chahal will need to perform well in favorable home conditions against Australia to assure himself of a spot in the playing XI.
#1 Rishabh Pant
Pant's white-ball record doesn't reflect his talent, and there were even rumors floating around that the Indian selectors might look past him for the T20 World Cup. But by virtue of being a left-hander and having played several important knocks across formats over the last few years, Pant was selected along with Dinesh Karthik as the wicketkeeper.
Pant will definitely be under pressure to deliver against Australia. His role and batting position in the side are yet to be ascertained, and Karthik's success as a finisher might even relegate him to the bench. But if the 24-year-old makes the playing XI against Australia, he needs to come up with a few telling performances to silence his critics and prove his worth to the team.