India vs Australia, 1st T20I: Rohit Sharma & Co. look to give final shape to team, plans

Though
a
few
fast
bowlers
will
be
rested
over
the
course
of
six
games
before
the
World
Cup
—
three
matches
against
South
Africa
to
follow
after
the
Australia
series
—
India
have
a
full
strength
squad
at
their
disposal
to
finalise
combinations.

The
T20
format
is
a
lot
about
being
flexible
but
as
he
mentioned
ahead
of
the
first
T20,
India
skipper
Rohit
Sharma
would
like
to
get
‘all
the
answers’
from
his
players
before
the
flagship
ICC
event
in
Australia.

Though
India
did
bat
well
in
the
Asia
Cup,
they
did
resort
to
a
lot
of
changes
during
the
tournament.

Their
lack
of
depth
in
the
bowling
department
was
also
exposed
but
Harshal
Patel
and
Jasprit
Bumrah
are
now
back
to
bolster
the
attack.

Rohit
has
made
it
clear
that
K
L
Rahul
will
be
his
opening
partner
in
Australia
but
there
is
a
possibility
that
Virat
Kohli
gets
to
open
alongside
him.
With
the
star
batter
scoring
a
memorable
hundred
in
his
last
T20
innings,
there
will
always
be
a
temptation
to
make
him
bat
at
the
top.

The
top-four
are
pretty
much
sorted
but
the
jury
is
still
out
on
the
role
of
wicketkeepers
Rishabh
Pant
and
Dinesh
Karthik
in
the
playing
eleven.

With
Ravindra
Jadeja
injured,
will
India
keep
the
left-handed
Pant
over
Karthik
who
is
a
designated
finisher
in
the
squad?
Karthik,
who
hardly
got
to
bat
in
the
Asia
Cup,
would
be
hoping
for
substantial
game
time
over
the
next
two
weeks.

Deepak
Hooda
played
all
the
Super
4
games
in
the
UAE
but
lack
of
clarity
remains
over
his
role
in
the
side.

Jadeja’s
injury
during
the
Asia
Cup
upset
the
bowling
balance
of
the
team.
From
six
bowling
options,
India
were
forced
to
play
with
five
bowlers.

If
India
play
both
Hardik
Pandya
and
Jadeja’s
like-for-like
replacement,
Axar
Patel,
the
team
will
have
the
extra
bowling
option.

Axar
and
Yuzvendra
Chahal
can
be
the
two
spinners
with
Bumrah,
Bhuvneshwar
Kumar,
Harshal
and
Hardik
forming
the
pace
attack.

The
conditions
in
Australia
will
be
vastly
different
from
here
and
the
management
will
go
about
its
business
keeping
that
in
mind.

Australia,
on
the
other
hand,
have
come
to
India
without
few
of
their
main
players
including
David
Warner
(rested).

Mitchell
Starc,
Marcus
Stoinis
and
Mitchell
Marsh,
who
are
nursing
minor
injuries
ahead
of
the
World
Cup,
have
also
stayed
back
in
Australia.

The
focus
will
be
on
skipper
Aaron
Finch,
who
recently
retired
from
ODIs
after
a
prolonged
lean
patch.
He
will
be
aiming
for
a
bagful
for
runs
ahead
of
the
World
Cup
at
home.

Another
player
who
has
attracted
a
lot
of
attention
is
power-hitter
Tim
David
who
is
set
to
make
his
Australia
debut
after
playing
international
cricket
for
Singapore.

David
has
made
a
name
for
himself
with
his
performances
in
the
T20
leagues
around
the
world
and
he
would
be
looking
to
replicate
that
at
the
highest
level.

Squads:
India:
Rohit
Sharma
(c),
KL
Rahul
(vc),
Virat
Kohli,
Suryakumar
Yadav,
Deepak
Hooda,
Rishabh
Pant,
Dinesh
Karthik,
Hardik
Pandya,
Ravichandaran
Ashwin,
Yuzvendra
Chahal,
Axar
Patel,
Bhuvneshwar
Kumar,
Harshal
Patel,
Deepak
Chahar,
Jasprit
Bumrah,
Umesh
Yadav.

Australia:
Sean
Abbott,
Ashton
Agar,
Pat
Cummins,
Tim
David,
Nathan
Ellis,
Aaron
Finch
(c),
Cameron
Green,
Josh
Hazlewood,
Josh
Inglis,
Glenn
Maxwell,
Kane
Richardson,
Daniel
Sams,
Steve
Smith,
Matthew
Wade,
Adam
Zampa.

Match
starts
7.30
IST.