Here are a few questions the Men in Blue need to keep in mind.
After not making it to the final of the 2019 World Cup, Team India have now shifted their focus towards next year's T20 World Cup. Indian skipper Virat Kohli has also termed the timeframe as 'the next milestone'.
Now with the opener game against South Africa getting washed out in Dharamshala, the team has time to think over how they are going to reshape their performance before the big tournament next year.
The Indian squad is also one less game to experiment on the road to Australia. So keeping the various factors in mind, these are the few questions the Men in Blue need to keep in mind and answer.
1. Could Shikhar Dhawan's form resurrect KL Rahul's dream?
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It is known that when it comes to T20, the openers for India are ought to be Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.
However, after Gabbar faced an injury in the 2019 World Cup, KL Rahul got a chance to open. He stuck on that even Rohit Sharma was not given a chance during the Test series against West Indies.
But Rahul's form deteriorated and it got him out of the Test squad for the South Africa series with the Hitman making it back to the opening.
As for Dhawan, since being dropped from the Tests, his form is under scrutiny. He hasn't had much luck recently and in the Caribbean, he averaged 19 in the three ODIs with a highest of 36 and only 9 in the three T20Is at a 96.42 strike rate and a highest of 23 in Lauderhill.
If this form continues, Rahul could find himself back in the opening position.
2. The middle order muddle
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From Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant to KL Rahul and Vijay Shankar and even Hardik Pandya - India has a plethora of choices in middle.
However, with one game less against South Africa, Team India should really focus on who could stick on to the No. 4 position.
Keeping the South African series in mind, Iyer is in form and can possibly claim the No. 4 spot. Pant can be pushed down. If Pant fails, then Pandey can take his position.
This equation now leads to the next important question - about Rishabh Pant.
3. Like KL Rahul, is Rishabh Pant also testing selectors patience
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Rishabh Pant is called as the 'next big thing' for Team India. However, his inconsistent performance has also got him to face some backlash.
"He has to make sure he applies himself. It's about winning and finishing games," Kohli had said. "If he plays like this more regularly, we will see his potential shine."
However, Pant needs to take the place given to him seriously as players like Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are sitting ready to grab on the opportunity.
4. Future of MS Dhoni
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Mahendra Singh Dhoni completed his army duties in Jammu and Kashmir and had made himself available for the upcoming series against South Africa. However, he nor part of the T20 series or even the Test series.
With speculations making the rounds about his retirement, Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) Chief Selector MSK Prasad confirmed that they have no updates on MS Dhoni's retirement and the news is incorrect.
'I don’t know when I will retire': MS Dhoni breaks silence and dismisses reports
He himself broke the silence and had dismissed the news saying, “I don’t know when I will retire. But a lot of people want me to retire before tomorrow’s game (India’s World Cup final group stage match against Sri Lanka),” according to ABP News.
5. If no Jasprit Bumrah, then who?
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Team India especially skipper Virat Kohli is so dependent on Jasprit Bumrah that he is the go-to bowler for any format of the game.
While India has the 'Kulcha' combo - Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal - there are many upcoming Spin bowlers like Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Krunal Pandya and for pace, India has Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini and even Deepak Chahar.
However, can any other bowler be as dependable as that of Bumrah is the main question? Is it also right to keep asking from Bumrah to be at his best every single day while others fail to perform is also a question that the Men in Blue need to answer.
