'Rishabh Pant can open instead of Ishan Kishan' - Parthiv Patel on India's possible changes for 2nd England T20I

Former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel believes that Team India will face difficulties in selecting a line-up for the upcoming second T20I against England at Edgbaston as the senior players, who had been given a brief break, have returned for the remainder of the T20I series. He opined that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant can be tried in the opening slot in place of Ishan Kishan.

Notably, the first T20I was completely dominated by the visitors, who defeated England by 50 runs. It will be fascinating to watch whether the team makes any adjustments given that several prominent players, including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant, are returning to the squad for the final two T20Is.

“DK has been the No. 1 finisher, Ishan Kishan has been the highest run-scorer for India in T20Is this year and Rishabh Pant is Rishabh Pant. Although he had a modest IPL, he will bring confidence from that hundred and a fifty from Edgbaston Test. He can open in the place of Ishan Kishan and can get quite a few opportunities at the top,” Parthiv said while speaking to Cricbuzz.

Shreyas Iyer I think might not make it to the playing XI: Parthiv Patel

In place of Axar Patel, according to Parthiv Patel, Ravindra Jadeja would return to the team as a like-for-like substitute. The 37-year-old believes that because Arshdeep Singh isn’t in the mix for the remaining T20Is, Bumrah will take his place. He also added that Shreyas Iyer will have to wait a little longer because Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya performed brilliantly in the first T20I as middle-order batters.

“Axar Patel will be replaced by Ravindra Jadeja. Jasprit Bumrah will also come in for Arshdeep Singh. Shreyas Iyer I think might not make it to the playing XI. Both Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant might come back but it will be interesting to see who will be left out,” he added.

India have got a winning combination, and it was clearly a dominant win in the first game. Thus, the Men in Blue would look to continue with as many players from the older combination as possible in order to keep the momentum alive.