IND vs SL: Selection problems for Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid: After their loss to Pakistan, India’s game against Sri Lanka on Tuesday has become a must win. With it being a big game, the team management have some selection headaches ahead of Asia Cup clash on Tuesday. They will have to make decisions on Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel among other combinations for the Sri Lanka game. Follow India vs Sri Lanka live updates with InsideSport.IN
India did make three changes for the Pakistan game. It was forced changes due to the team combination with Ravindra Jadeja being ruled out of Asia Cup. It also highlighted the importance of Jadeja, who lends a balance in the team combination.
Head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma have some big decisions to make. The next 24 hours will be crucial as they prepare for the Sri Lanka game. Here is a look at some points to ponder for the team management.
Rishabh Pant vs Dinesh Karthik
In order to accommodate a left-hander in the middle order, India fielded Rishabh Pant on Sunday. But the southpaw did not make a good impression with the bat, scoring 14. In fact, Karthik was picked ahead of him in the first game against Pakistan. With the way how things went in the slog overs, where India lacked a finisher, the management might go ahead with Karthik. The man from Tamil Nadu has been decent as has been used as the finisher of the team.
Deepak Hooda or Axar Patel
After having flown in as Jadeja’s replacement, Axar Patel was hailed as the like-for-like replacement. He was expected to feature in the Playing XI, but did not. Patel could get a game against Sri Lanka at the expense of Hooda, who came in at number seven. If Hooda is just played as a batter, it is better off to play Patel, who can contribute with the ball as well. Hooda did not bowl a single ball. Having Patel in the Playing XI is an asset in the current India set-up. Even if Pant does not play, Patel can move higher up the order to make up for the left-hander option.
Bowling combination
The bowling combination will be one of the main points up for discussion in the team meeting. India just used five bowlers in the game against Pakistan. And also with Avesh Khan out with illness, they missed the zing in their bowling attack, which could have troubled Pakistan. If Avesh is ready, who do they drop? They will have to look into the pitch before making a call on the Playing XI.
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