PITCH HIGH

India Playing XI 1st T20 against England, big question mark over KL Rahul’s place in XI

By pitchhigh | Mar 09, 2021

Rohit Sharma has returned to the Indian T20 as well as the Rishabh Pant form. So where does this leave Kuala Lumpur Rahul's 11th India center? Rishabh Pant's phenomenal return will lead to many interesting developments at the top of the ranking.

The Pant's inclusion means that KL Rahul, who until a few months ago was a goalkeeper's first choice, is unlikely to be wearing large gloves. Both Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma were key players at the start of the match until recently, but Rahul's emergence as a strong white-ball specialist sparked the competition.

Dhawan recently earned a score of 150 in the Vijay Hazare Cup for Delhi, and when it comes to Rohit, there's nothing to dispute.

So where does team management fit in with Rahul, who was a successful player in the IPL? Will he be placed in the middle-ranking because Dhawan is not suitable for hitting less? These are two closely related questions and there will be a follow-up question in the answer.

With Captain Kohli himself in third and two revolutionaries like Pant and multi-level player Hardik Pandya expected to play the big shots in fifth and sixth places, where would you best leave Rahul? The only place it can be assigned is number 4, but Shreyas Iyer and Suriyakumar Yadav are also fighting for a place.

If one closely follows the XI player picking pattern, Surya, the emotional favorite, will have to wait for his turn because Shreyas has done nothing wrong.

But when it comes to a three-way fight between Rahul, Shreyas, and Surya, the man from Karnataka defeats the boys from Mumbai with his combination of punches and the ability to shift gears.

This means that among KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Surya, only one will make it to Indian Play XI.

India Playing XI – Headache is a bowling combination too? 

Likewise, in the percussion section, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, once India's greatest white ball advocate, returns after a long break and will face a duo fight with Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur.

For Bhuvneshwar, his experience and being a better Rami player in death compared to Shahar puts him in good shape, but he hasn't played much cricket except for some Mushtaq Ali matches.

The same goes for Chahar, the tough bowler who excels at swinging but is more than just one trick with no contrast during the tenth stroke. Shardul is a cunning soccer player who can swing him at a fast pace and between the three of them, he can use the long handle to get the best spin.

Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, and Axar Patel are the three expected winners in the eleventh game on the Slow Cliffs of Motera. In another three-way fight, Thangarasu Natarajan, with his variety of yorkers, has a better chance to start compared to Navdeep Saini.

In total, there are far too many good players and too little space for them all with three safe choices: Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jaspreet Bumrah who are already resting or recovering from injury.

Once they return, that will be a major concern of management, but they won't mind.

India’s T20I squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.

Also Read: Kieron Pollard hits Six 6s in an over against Sri Lanka

 

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