IND vs SL T20I series: Three issues from West Indies series Team India would look to address

KEY STORY

• The Indian cricket team completed a clean sweep over West Indies in both the ODI and the T20I series, winning all 6 matches. However, with this being a year of the T20 World Cup, the team’s performance in the shortest format was under the microscope. Though Rohit Sharma & Co. did very well in all departments of the game, there remain a few issues the team management would be keen to address.

• With the T20I series against West Indies set to be followed by 3 T20Is against Sri Lanka, the Men in Blue will get an instant opportunity to fix the issues they identified against the Windies.

  Reserve Opening Spot: There’s no doubting that KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are the first-choice partners as far as opening is concerned, their backup still remains a work in progress. Ishan Kishan played all three T20Is, while opening in two alongside Rohit while Ruturaj Gaikwad got the opportunity in the third T20I.

  Though Ishan spent a good amount of time on the crease, he failed to accelerate run-rate the way he had been at Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League. His ‘reserved approach’ towards the game has come under question. In 3 matches, Ishan scored 71 runs at a strike-rate of 85.54. Ruturaj, who only featured in one game, is likely to be given more opportunities against Sri Lanka.

  Middle-order Aggressor: When Rahul and Rohit open together, they are expected to give the Indian team fiery starts. However, in cases where they fail, the Indian team seems to be lacking an aggressor at the No. 3 spot. Virat Kohli is known to get runs but the manner in which he has progressed his game of late has surprised many. The former India skipper seems to slow down midway during his innings on a consistent basis, something that the team management wouldn’t be entirely impressed with.

  Such situations put more pressure on the No. 4 and No. 5 spots to accelerate the run-rate pretty quickly. Though Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav are more than capable, a better balance needs to be drawn in the middle-order. While Kohli isn’t a part of the T20Is against the Lankans, another option at No. 3 position is set to be tried.

• Experience vs Freshness: Bhuvneshwar Kumar has continued to be a part of the Indian team despite numbers showing his decreasing efficiency. Bhuvi’s inclusion in the team comes at the cost of young talents like Avesh Khan or Mohammed Siraj. Both the pacers have done really well in the shortest format but haven’t had many opportunities in the team.

  Should the team management continue to prefer Bhuvi’s experience over the freshness that Siraj and Avesh bring to the team, is a question many are asking.