A win is only going to cut it for the India Cricket Team. After going down 1-0 against South Africa, the Men in Blue will be eager to exact revenge on their opposition. With series on the line, the Men in Blue face 3 chief selection dilemmas ahead of the final encounter of the T20 series.
Barring this match, just 3 T20I matches remain for India before the mega 2024 T20 World Cup. But the selection dilemma remains for the third and the final game of the tournament. Shreyas Iyer vs Tilak Varma is the biggest headache for the Men in Blue right now.
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Shreyas Iyer vs Tilak Varma
After the first match got washed off, it was the young southpaw Tilak Varma who got the nod ahead of Iyer in the IND vs SA 2nd T20I. Fans were certainly surprised to see the likes of Iyer being on the bench while the youngster starred for the Men in Blue. The youngster justified his spot in the team with some gritty batting,
He slammed 29 from 20 with 4 fours and a solitary sixer. His knock and the 49-run partnership with skipper Suryakumar Yadav was extremely crucial after India lost both their openers for dual ducks.
Iyer who replaced Varma for the last 2 games of the IND vs AUS T20I series, will like to return to the team and go all guns blazing. With two set batters yet distinct in their style, it will be a huge selection dilemma for Rahul Dravid to choose one.
Ravi Bishnoi vs Kuldeep Yadav
Another big change that happened in the previous game was Kuldeep Yadav starting ahead of Ravi Bishnoi. The latter was adjudged the player of the series for the Australia series and is the current World Number 1 T20I bowler.
“Ravi Bishnoi… still finding his feet at the international level. Yes, he is the No. 1 T20 bowler in the world but again, if you get stuck into him, sometimes you tend to see him bowl faster and quicker. The faster you bowl on a good pitch, it gets that much easier for the batters because the pace is exactly what they are looking for,” Gavaskar said while speaking to the host broadcaster.
In the IND vs SA 2nd T20I, Kuldeep managed to scalp 1 wicket but was hit for 26 runs in his allotted 3 overs. It remains a big selection conundrum as to who will Rahul Dravid pick. Will it be the ever-dependable Kuldeep or the red-hot Ravi Bishnoi?
Ishan Kishan vs Jitesh Sharma
Ishan Kishan has been a regular in the Indian team but has failed to feature regularly. He played the first three matches of the Australia series before Jitesh Sharma took over the keeping duties from the southpaw. Despite scoring just 1 run against the Proteas in the previous match, Jitesh is likely to feature for the men in blue in the final match of the series.
India Predicted Playing XI vs SA in 3rd T20I
1. Shubman Gill
2. Yashasvi Jaiswal
3. Shreyas Iyer/Tilak Varma
4. Suryakumar Yadav (C)
5. Rinku Singh
6. Jitesh Sharma/Ishan Kishan (WK)
7. Ravindra Jadeja (VC)
8. Ravi Bishnoi/Kuldeep Yadav
9. Mohammed Siraj
10. Arshdeep Singh
11. Mukesh Kumar
India’s squad for 3 T20Is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar.