Team India, if we see the last few years, under Rohit Sharma and now Suryakumar Yadav — is hands down the best T20I side in the world. They of course have the 2024 T20 World Cup trophy to their name, and have been exceptional in the bilateral series’ as well. But then, one must admit, it is a team that comes with it own set of faults; nothing related to the players, but perhaps it is more of the decision-making by the stake-holders, that seems to be causing the problems.
February is when the next edition of the T20 World Cup starts in India & Sri Lanka, and if the issues persist, defending the title could be out of question.
Shubman Gill doesn’t fit in current setup
Don’t judge. Gill is a mighty good player, with good numbers, but it just gives a feeling, that he was somehow accommodated in this T20I team. In 2025, he has been below-average, hasn’t scored a fifty, with 263 runs coming from his bat. He has taken the role from Sanju Samson, who looked quite set at the top of the order along with Abhishek Sharma. Right now, his each failure increases pressure on his partners.
No Sanju Samson in XIs is baffling
To have the player of Samson’s caliber in the team, and then to sit him out, is just criminal. He was first moved to the middle-order, and then given a place on the bench in the series vs SA. All that doesn’t quite make sense. This year, due to all the changes made, he averages only 18. For now, he is replaced by a keeper — Jitesh Sharma, who is seen as a finisher. So, if only Gautam Gambhir wanted Samson to be changed, why not have a like-for-like replacement?
Axar Patel the floater
The all-round capabilities of Axar Patel bring a lot of value to this T20I side, but then there is only one issue. He cannot be randomly sent at no. 3 in one match, and then no. 7/8 in the other. He is one player whose order keeps changing. The decision to send him ahead of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma in a crunch chase of 211 vs Proteas, is just inexplicable. Overall, he averages 20 with the bat.
Justice for Kuldeep Yadav
With the kind of wicket-taker Kuldeep is, he should not be benched for any match. The man has 88 wickets in 49 matches in his career, with a strike-rate of 11.7 and an economy of 6.83. Find one permanent spot for him. In the last 10 matches he has 19 wickets, where in one game, he did get to bowl.
Don’t discard Nitish Kumar Reddy
When NKR plays, you don’t bowl him enough, don’t test him enough with the bat. In 4 matches, he has scored 90 runs, and picked up three wickets. But what is surprising is, he has bowled only 9 overs till date. As far as his batting is concerned, he has batted at no. 4 and no. 7. BTW, he picked up a hat-trick against MP in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Friday. He cannot be treated as replacement all-rounder for Hardik Pandya or Shivam Dube.
Who are the pace replacements?
Who are the frontline pacers for India, in case Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh are not available for the T20 World Cup? For now it seems, the three pacers who would go to the WC are the above two — and Harshit Rana. But speaking about just the latter, he doesn’t seem to have displayed the kind of wicket-taking ability, the other two have shown. So, who should ideally be India’s reserve pacer or the third pacer?
The answer seems to be Rana for now, but then he needs to be played a lot more then. India have 9 matches remaining now, before the big event.
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