India will take on the World No. 1 ranked nation in the upcoming T20I series, which is scheduled to be played from this Friday. After a dominant victory in the Test series, momentum will be on the Indian side to see this through. Today we take a look at some players who will be willing to take up the onus to help India over the line in the extended 5-match series.
Rohit Sharma
The Indian batsman is in exquisite form in the ongoing series between India and England. Ever since making his return to the Indian team from injury during the test matches against Australia, Rohit Sharma has not missed a beat and is scoring runs on plenty. His masterstroke innings of 161 versus England during the second Test leading India to a win was a huge catalyst for the Indians to make a comeback in the series after going 0-1 down.
Again called upon his talents to open the innings in coming to T20 Internationals against England, Rohit Sharma will be eager to hit the big scores. His last played T20 series was during India’s tour of New Zealand, where the Indian batsmen scored 140 runs from 4 innings at a strike rate of 150.53. Being just 227 runs away from 3K runs in International T20, India will be expecting big things from the hitman.
KL Rahul
The Indian batsmanan looks all set for the upcoming T20I matches against England, making a return to the Indian playing eleven from an injury sustained during the Indian tour of Australia.
With just days remaining for the commencement of T20 matches, the right-handed batsman was seen training with full flow in the nets. Making great strides in the game, The Indian batsman has made himself a valuable commodity of the team.
The 28-year-old will be looked upon to replace Dhawan and open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma. It remains to be seen if KL Rahul can continue where he last stopped, with his last series played coming against New Zealand where he was the top run-getter of the series. He scored a total of 224 runs from 5 matches at a strike rate of 144.51. A similar kind of performance, if not better will be expected especially with the Asia Cup and World T20 around the corner.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
With Jasprit Bumrah out of the team due to personal reasons, Mohammed Shami still not having recovered from Injury, It will fall on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the most experienced pacer in the lineup to lead the bowling attack. The bowler himself is making a comeback into the team after more than a year after constantly being riddled with injuries. His last match played for India in December 2019, during the West Indies tour of India.
The bowler will be rearing to make his long-awaited comeback after his bout with injuries. Recently proving his fitness during the Syed Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Hazare tournaments. Though he wasn't much among the wickets, His performances stood out for his economical bowling especially during the death overs. Something that will come in handy against the English opposition. He will be looking forward to making his mark once he finds his rhythm and hopefully stays away from any injuries.
Hardik Pandya
The Indian all-rounder was part of the Indian squad in the recently concluded Test series against England but did not get a game. The shorter format of the game looks like another story, as the Indian player is a quintessential part of the team with his explosive hitting and ability to bowl a few overs. The 27-year-old had stopped bowling due to his back injury for which he underwent surgery and the Indian management has managed his workload ever since.
With not bowling much ever since his back surgery and playing in the team as a specialist batsman, The Indian coaches have been working with the all-rounder to perfect his new tweaked action, which Pandya was seen perfecting in full tilt in the nets. Looking forward to his bowling, India will continue depending on his batting skills as he played a match-winning role in the recently finished T20 series against Australia where he scored 78 runs from 3 matches at a strike rate of 156. The all-rounder will be looking forward to continuing his heroics against the English opposition.
Axar Patel
The one half of the spin duo and chief tormenter for English, Axar Patel played a starring role in the recently concluded test series against the English. With all 5 T20 matches set to be played in Ahmedabad, the local boy will be keen to keep the chants going. Making his debut into the Test side, the Indian bowler grabbed his opportunities with both hands and went on to create new records as a debutant.
Though in the white-ball format, the 27-year-old will be making a comeback after having last represented India in February 2018 in India’s series against South Africa. Playing only one match in the series Axar Patel was able to perform neither with the bat or ball. With not really shining in the shorter formats of the game, this looks like a great opportunity to make his mark in his home ground with momentum on his side.
Even though England players have struggled against Indian spinners on spin-friendly pitches, T20’s are going to be a completely different ball game. They are a very dominant side in the shorter formats of the game. With few days left for the matches to begin, Let us know which Indian player you are looking forward to the most.
