New Delhi. Team India, which performed brilliantly with the bat and ball in the Southampton T20, may have to struggle a lot with the playing XI in the second T20. The reason is clear that Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja were rested from the first T20 after the Edgbaston Test.
But the second T20 which will be played in Birmingham will be the return of these players. In such a situation, it will be a big challenge for captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid to pick the last eleven as Deepak Hooda and Suryakumar Yadav are in good shape.
Virat Kohli’s place in the last eleven
Virat will return to T20 Internationals after 5 months. His place in the playing XI is believed to be confirmed. In such a situation, Ishaan Kishan may have to go out. Kohli can open the innings with Rohit. Iyer’s comeback looks difficult as the in-form Suryakumar Yadav and Hooda will not be willing to risk the removal of Hooda. However, a day before the match, Virat had sweated heavily in the nets, which also indicates that his return to the playing XI is almost certain.
Rishabh Pant’s place in the last eleven is also looking difficult as Karthik has done a good job as a finisher so far. In the only Edgbaston Test, Pant got the most runs from India’s bat but his performance in white ball cricket has not been special. Even in the series against South Africa, he could not show anything special. Ravindra Jadeja may be doing wonders with bat and ball in Tests, but in T20, the team’s first choice will be Axar Patel.
Team India’s playing XI in the second T20
Rohit Sharma (captain), Virat Kohli, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal.