Kohli, Rohit’s form take the spotlight in Bengaluru dead rubber

In the cauldron of Indian cricket, a T20 series against Afghanistan was never meant for big consumption. It doesn’t get broadcasters excited nor inspire the big boys to make themselves available. 

But there’s another facet to Indian cricket which is an intrinsic part of its existence. The selection conundrum - you never know what the selectors are thinking, who they’re pushing up, or who they’re bringing down. Most importantly - when are they doing any of these?

Hence, a largely inconsequential third and final T20I of the series in Bengaluru, albeit being a dead rubber, has garnered so much attention. Can Rohit Sharma rebound from his twin ducks? Will Virat Kohli make another statement of intent? 

There are so many stories riding on it, but the biggest of them of all is the question of combination, as India are not slated to play another T20I ahead of the World Cup in June and July. Obviously, the IPL performances will decide the course, but this is no mean exercise.

Things to watch out for

Will Kohli continue showing his attacking intent?

When a decision regarding a batter’s intent needs to be made, never do it at Chinnaswamy. Well, one can’t certainly change the venue now, but Virat Kohli, back at his adopted home ground, will be keen to showcase that he is still a relevant entity in the shortest format of the game.

India have travelled quite far in the last 14 months with a wonderful mix of left and right-handed batters and no shortage of intent. For Kohli to be in the mix, he has to either open the innings or do something so spectacular that no one could ideally remove him. 

In Indore, he did just that from the word go - by chasing the hell for leather. In front of a passionate Bangalore crowd, don’t be surprised if Kohli puts up another exhibition of the same. Spin has been a bugbear for the former Indian skipper - but the fact that he thwarted Mujeeb Ur Rahman out of the attack in his first over itself lends a semblance of positivity. 

Will Kuldeep get a look in ahead of Sundar?

India preferred Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel as their spin combination for the first two games - with Axar and Bishnoi coming out with flying colours. Bishnoi did the difficult job of bowling in the death overs and even though he went for runs in Indore, things were not as bad. 

However, India may decide to rest Washington for the Bengaluru T20I to try Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist spinner has picked up 14 wickets at an average of 13.1 and an economy of 6.0 in T20Is since 2023. Those are impressive numbers but weren’t enough to displace Bishnoi, who has been consistent in the format for a while now.

So the obvious choice is now between Kuldeep and Sundar. What would be the combination, then?

Time for Ibrahim Zadran to step up?

You look at Ibrahim Zadran tonking away the bowlers and it is hard not to feel a little addicted to it. He is a pure talent on display and when at his aggrandizing self, he can leave you wanting for more. After a path-breaking ODI World Cup, where he averaged 47.00 in nine matches, Zadran was asked to lead the T20 side, and boy, has he been a complete disappointment.

While he has been a revelation in ODIs, Zadran doesn’t have a solid T20 career yet. An average of 25.96 and a strike rate of 103.17 is not good enough, but what questions the credentials even more is his SR of 118.44 in all T20s. He needs to step up if Afghanistan wish to give India any sort of challenges in Bengaluru.

Tactical Insights

--> Gulbadin Naib scored 57 in the last game but always struggles when spinners attack him on the stumps. On that line, his strike rate drops down to 63. So Indian spinners might target that region to cramp him down.

--> Arshdeep Singh has been unplayable when he has bowled on the good length spot. In the last two matches, he has bowled 29.2% of balls on that length, with an economy rate of 2.6. So if he can take that number up in the next game, more problems are brewing for Afghanistan.

Probable XIs

Kuldeep Yadav bowled a lot in the nets under the watchful eyes of the bowling coach Paras Mhambrey. If that is anything to go by, India may make only one change to their Playing XI, with Kuldeep Yadav coming in for Washington Sundar. 

Likely XI: Rohit Sharma ( c ), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar 

Afghanistan are unlikely to make any changes to their batting order in the next game.

Likely XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman