Nidahas Trophy 2018: 5 Combinations India can try in the series

India has named a second-string squad for the Nidahas Trophy 2018, resting some of the regular players and calling up some of the youngsters who had a good season in white ball Cricket in the domestic circuit. While India has been doing very well in limited-over Cricket from results’ point of view, there are surely a few areas which are concerning and need to be sorted. With MS Dhoni reaching the twilight of his career and his finishing skills diminishing to a certain degree, India is in dire need of a couple of players who excel in death over batting and also an all-rounder as a back-up for Hardik Pandya ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

In the absence of the regulars, there are a lot of talks and anticipation about the composition of the Indian XI. Plenty of options are there for different slots and various kinds of combinations are possible which the team management will be trying out in search of the right personnel for the future.

Here we discuss 5 such possible combinations that we may see from India in the upcoming tri-nation T20 series:

Combination 1 (Dinesh Karthik at 4, Rishabh Pant at 6, Washington Sundar as the all-rounder)

There is no doubt that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will open the Indian innings and given how Suresh Raina performed at no. 3 in the series against South Africa, it is likely that he will be persisted within that role. Also, Manish Pandey displayed some scintillating stroke-play at no. 5, a position which seems to be ideally suited for him and his batting position shouldn’t and won’t be tinkered with either.

It leaves the no. 4 and the no. 6 position vacant and India can slot two wicketkeepers in the squad at those two positions. Dinesh Karthik surprisingly got just one opportunity in South Africa and needless to say he deserves more. Since he has got a fair bit of class in his batting, a solid technique and the ability to go through the gears smoothly, he is the man for the no. 4 position and since he is a better keeper than Rishabh Pant, he should take the gloves as well.

Rishabh Pant is one of those very few young Indian players coming through the ranks who have got the power game. He is someone who can actually muscle the old and soft white ball and the Indian fans will be watching him very closely in this series. He is the kind of player India desperately need in the lower middle order and if he catches the no. 6 position by the scruff of the neck, a lot of India’s problems will be solved, not only in T20 Cricket but in ODI Cricket as well to some extent.

Washington Sundar will be the right choice as the all-rounder as the Sri Lankan pitches will generally be low and slow and will provide assistance for the spin bowlers. One of Sundar’s qualities as an off-spinner is that he can bowl with the new ball as well and can bowl with good control. He is not a huge turner of the ball, but very accurate and the trajectory that he generates with his height makes it a tad difficult for the batsmen to pick his lengths at times.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal

Combination 2 (KL Rahul at 3, Suresh Raina at 4, Dinesh Karthik out)

KL Rahul is in top 10 in the ICC WT20 rankings at the moment, but he had to sit out in South Africa simply because there was no room at the top of the order. With Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma there in the squad, they were always going to be the first choice openers and then India decided to go with Raina at no. 3 pushing the skipper Virat Kohli down to 4 making it virtually impossible for Rahul to get in.

However, Kohli is not in the squad for the Nidahas Trophy and that might allow India to accommodate Rahul in the XI. The Karnataka right-hander is a top order batsman and there is no point playing him out of top 3 if the best has to be extracted out of him.

If Rahul is in, it’s a no-brainer he will bat 3 and Raina, in that scenario, will bat 4. Dinesh Karthik will sadly lose his place again because Manish Pandey at 5 is an absolute certainty and India will not leave Pant out at any cost as he is the one big prospect for them going ahead and has to be given a long rope at no. 6. He will keep wickets as well in Karthik’s absence.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal

Combination 3 (Deepak Hooda at 5, Manish Pandey at 4, KL Rahul out)

Deepak Hooda has made a name for himself with his hitting potential in the IPL as well as for his state side. He is a powerful and clean striker of the Cricket ball and is very strong down the ground, against the spinners in particular. He has been talked about a lot as a potential finisher for India and if the team management goes with him, it will be at the expense of KL Rahul.

That will be very unfortunate though as Rahul is a consistent performer in the shortest format of the game for India whenever he has got opportunities. However, the dynamics and the balance of the team at times leads to certain players being harshly treated and this might be one of those cases.

If Rahul is out and Hooda is in, Raina will bat 3, Manish Pandey will be promoted up to 4 and the no. 5 slot will be assigned to Hooda who quite often bat at that number for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and is accustomed to it.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (WK), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal

Combination 4 (Vijay Shankar as the all-rounder, Washington Sundar out)

If it’s not quite a low and slow surface and has a slight bit of green tinge on it or maybe if it’s too flat and India think three spin options might not be needed or a risky proposition, it may result in the all-rounder’s slot going to Vijay Shankar who is again a very talented player from Tamil Nadu and has earned his spot in the Indian team on the back of some really impressive performances in domestic Cricket.

Vijay Shankar is a handy seam bowler who doesn’t have the express pace but possesses the potential to present the seam nicely and extract the fair bit of movement off the deck every now and again. Also, he is another player who is blessed with the power game and batting at no. 7, he can form a nice combination with Rishabh Pant in the death overs to finish the innings efficiently for India.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (WK), Vijay Shankar, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal

Combination 5 (Shardul Thakur out, Mohammad Siraj in)

Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat will be the starters for India in the tournament as far as the fast bowling department is concerned. Both of them bowl with decent pace and have got nice changeups. With Unadkat, that left arm angle is always an advantage as it gives a different dimension to the bowling attack, while Shardul is a very smart exponent of knuckleballs.

India will be backing this pair to make a significant impact, but in case the team qualifies for the final with a game in hand, the management might contemplate resting Shardul and getting Mohammad Siraj in.

Siraj is an exciting prospect for Indian Cricket. He is a well-built fast bowler with broad shoulders and can crank up the speeds of over 140 kph on a consistent basis. He has those off cutters in his armory too which we have seen in the IPL and a couple of T20 games he has played for India so far, but it will be interesting to see if he has added any more variations to his bowling of late.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (WK), Vijay Shankar, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal