T20 World Cup 2021: 3 Changes India should make to win against New Zealand

The Super-12 stage of the T20 World-cup has kick-started in the United Arab Emirates and the teams are already in desperation to win games and qualify for the knockout games.

India’s campaign did not start the way it was expected as their arch-rivals Pakistan defeated them without a single wicket being lost. This was also the first victory for Pakistan in a T20 World cup match against India. This hurt the Indian squad and the billions of people back home.

Nevertheless, India has a buffer period of seven days to bounce back and to come alive in the tournament. India has to face New Zealand on 31st October in Dubai. India can’t bear even a single loss after this as it would turn out difficult to qualify, so the captain along with the support staff should bring in their best combination in the upcoming match.

1. Ishan Kishan for Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya had to transform his role to just a batter due to injury concerns and it has hit the Indian team’s combination hard. In the last two years, Hardik has bowled in just six out of his 35 T20s.

Being picked up in the squad as a specialist batter, his form with the bat has also been questionable. This slogger has been out of touch even in the previously held IPL. He managed to score just 11 runs in 8 balls in the match against Pakistan.

This position needs to be replaced by a proper batter and the only contender on the list is Ishan Kishan. In the warm-up match against England a few days back, Ishan scored a blistering 70* off just 46 deliveries. It is also to be noted that Pandya was not available on the field in the second innings due to his injury and Ishan must be replacing him on Sunday.

2. Shardul Thakur for Bhuvaneshwar Kumar

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, the medium-paced swing bowler, has not been impressive with his form in recent times. He is known for his in-swinging deliveries and for knocking the batters out in the powerplays, but recently he has lagged in picking early wickets for the team.

India badly failed in the bowling department led by Bhuvaneshwar against Pakistan. He was given a chance ahead in the squad for his experience even though he finished the IPL with just 6 wickets in 11 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Shardul Thakur, the new rising star of the Indian cricket team, should replace Bhuvaneshwar Kumar against New Zealand. Bringing this 30-year-old player to the eleven could be a great advantage to the team, as he has the knack of taking wickets and is a useful slogger too.

3. Ravichandran Ashwin for Varun Chakravarthy:

Varun Chakravarthy, the Indian mystery-spinner, was expected to be a key-bowler for India. But he could not perform for the team against Pakistan. He has not performed yet for the national side like how he played for KKR in the IPL.

Varun bowled 4 overs and conceded 33 runs without a wicket. He did not trouble the Pakistani batters as he was expected to. The surprise inclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin in the T20 squad should be of use now. He was last seen in 2017 in the limited-overs format.

He is a clever bowler and also can contribute decently with the bat. The experienced campaigner Ravi Ashwin, along with the left-handed orthodox-spin attack of Jadeja, could turn out to be a deadly combo. Ashwin’s experience could also be handy to the captain and for the rest of the bowlers.

~Written by Mathuravardhan Sivakumar