IND vs ENG T20 Dilemmas: Tough calls between Dhawan/Rahul, Chahar/Bhuvneshwar, Shreyas/Surya
For a team that's so closely followed, the result does matter and that's why one can expect a settled first eleven for the first three games since all matches are at the same venue on similar kind of tracks.
The Indian team management faces a problem of plenty going into the five T20 Internationals against England, an assignment which marks the beginning of the side's build-up to this year's T20 World Cup at home. There are 19 players available for selection and with two in contention for each slot, the XI for the five games, starting here on Friday, will be an indication to how head coach Ravi Shastri, captain Virat Kohli and bowling coach Bharat Arun are looking at the next six to seven months for the shortest format. Will they look for a settled combination to first clinch the series and then experiment or will they field absolute rookies in the squad looking at the bigger picture? (PTI)
IND vs ENG T20 Dilemmas: Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul
IND vs ENG T20 Dilemmas: Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant
The only place Rahul can be slotted is no 4 but Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav are also jostling for a place. If one closely follows the pattern of picking the playing XI, Surya, a sentimental favourite, will have to wait for his turn as Shreyas has done nothing wrong. But when it comes to a three-way battle between Rahul, Shreyas and Surya, the Karnataka man beats the two Mumbai boys hollow with his repertoire of strokes and ability to shift gears. (PTI/File Photo)
IND vs ENG T20 Dilemmas: Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma
Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma were a settled white ball opening pair till recently but Rahul's emergence as a potent white ball specialist has spiced up the competition. Dhawan recently had a score of 150 odd in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Delhi and when it comes to Rohit, there's nothing to be discussed. So where does the team management fit in Rahul, who has been a successful IPL opener? Will he be slotted in the middle-order as Dhawan's game is not suited to batting lower down? (PTI/File Photo)
IND vs ENG T20 Dilemmas: Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Similarly, in the pace department, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, once upon a time India's best white ball exponent, is coming back after a long lay-off and will be engaged in a two-way fight with Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur. For Bhuvneshwar, his experience and being a better bowler at the death compared to Chahar holds him in good stead but he hasn't played a lot of cricket save a few Mushtaq Ali games. (PTI/File Photo)
