IND-BAN T20IS
Follow UsIndia are playing a lot of Test cricket in the next few months, so there’s not a lot of focus on the 20-over format. The Men in Blue are set to be involved in a three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, starting on October 6 (Sunday), and most of the main players have been rested. There’s still enough firepower in India’s squad and Suryakumar Yadav and Co. will enter the series as red-hot favourites.
Here are some of the things to keep an eye on from India’s perspective:
Much deserved second opportunity for Varun Chakravarthy
There was a lot of hype around Chakravarthy when he made his T20I debut in 2021. The mystery spinner even featured in the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai but remained wicketless in all the three games he played. In fact, Chakravarthy only managed to pick two wickets in his six T20I outings for India and was dropped from the setup after the showpiece event.
He maintained an impressive economy of 5.86 but a bowling average of 66 is not something you expect from your frontline spinner. Everyone knew his India career was more or less over, but a lot has changed in the last few months. Gautam Gambhir became India’s coach and then it was pretty evident that Chakravarthy would be back in the scheme of things.
Mind you, the 33-year-old is not just here because of Gambhir but also because of his performances in the last two seasons of the Indian Premier League. Kolkata Knight Riders’ Chakravarthy has claimed 41 wickets @ 20.3 and an economy of 8.1 in the last two editions. No other bowler has taken more wickets than him in this period.
Chakravarthy has managed to break into the squad but there’s no guarantee he will feature in the XI straightaway, especially with India having a couple of spin-bowling all-rounders in their arsenal. There’s also Ravi Bishnoi, who is ahead of Chakravarthy in the pecking order. But one thing is certain, Gambhir, who was Chakravarthy’s mentor at KKR earlier this year, would want to give him some game time during the series.
Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh are India’s premier two pacers in the 20-over format. Mohammed Siraj will be around but his spot is far from confirmed, and that will give Mayank and Harshit a chance to make a case for themselves during the Bangladesh series. Both of them impressed in the last season of IPL but are yet to play for India.
Let’s start with Harshit first. Earlier this year, the right-armer played his first full IPL season and took 19 wickets in 11 innings, averaging 20.2 and going at an economy rate of 9.1. That economy might look a tad higher but he bowled tough overs and even managed to outbowl someone like Mitchell Starc across phases.
The Delhi pacer is an all-phase bowler and you don’t get that a lot in India. He is yet to make his debut for India but was part of the T20I squad in Zimbabwe and the ODI squad in Sri Lanka. Harshit recently took a couple of four-wicket hauls in the Duleep Trophy and also played cameos of 31 and 24. That’s right, Harshit has the capability to play those little fiery cameos down the order, which is gold dust in the 20-over format.
Then there’s Mayank. Indian cricket has always been fascinated by pacers who can clock 150 KMPH. The 22-year-old played only four games for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024 before getting injured. But that was enough for him to force everyone to sit up and take notice. Mayank bowled with sheer pace and claimed seven wickets at an average of 12.14. He hasn’t played any competitive cricket since, but the selectors could still not ignore the x-factor he provides.
Plethora of all-rounders
In his first assignment as India’s head coach, Gambhir made it clear that players who can contribute in all three facets of the game will be given more importance. When India toured Sri Lanka, the likes of Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube bowled quite a bit. Even Suryakumar Yadav and Rinku Singh won India a game with their part-time off-spin. Washington Sundar was also around.
So, when the squad was announced for the Bangladesh T20Is, it didn’t surprise anyone to see so many all-rounders part of the setup. India have retained all the aforementioned players and also brought in Abhishek Sharma and Nitish Reddy. The best part about this is India can easily play five out of Parag, Pandya, Dube, Washington, Abhishek and Reddy in their XI.
Abhishek was left out of the Sri Lanka series but we all know how lethal he can be with the bat. The 24-year-old, who hit a ton in his second T20I against Zimbabwe, is also a handy left-arm spinner. Meanwhile, Reddy might not start straightaway but could get a game or two. In IPL 2024, the fast-bowling all-rounder scored 303 runs @ 33.66 and a strike rate of 142.92. He also took three wickets and could easily slot in the middle-order if and when the opportunity arises.
KKR, SRH, LSG will be keeping a close eye
Three IPL franchises - KKR, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants - will be keeping a close eye on the series. It’s not because they care a lot about Indian cricket, but because a couple of debuts could hamper their retention planning ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.
As of now, Harshit (KKR), Reddy (SRH) and Mayank (LSG) could be retained in the uncapped category (INR 4 crore) but that won’t be the case if they go on to make their India debut. The minimum retention amount for a capped player is INR 11 crore and the aforementioned franchises wouldn’t want to go there.
India’s likely XI for the first T20I
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Suryakumar Yadav ( c ), Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana/Mayank Yadav
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here.
