Virat Kohli will make 3 changes for Bengaluru T20I, feels Ajay Jadeja

India’s first international assignment at home in 2019 turned out to be a disappointing experience as Virat Kohli’s men lost to Australia in the first T20I in Visakhapatnam by 3 wickets. The loss meant India will not be able to win the series since it’s only a two-match series. India’s batters let them down as Australia restricted the home team to 126 for 7 in 20 overs and then toiled hard to overhaul the target in the final ball of the match. Pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile was adjudged the Man of the Match with his 3 wickets for 26.

The two teams will meet in the second and final T20I in Bengaluru on February 27 and the Men in Blue will be looking to draw the series. India went with a spin-heavy attack in the first game and three wicketkeeper batsmen played the match with Mahendra Singh Dhoni handling the glovework. Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja predicted the home team to make some key changes in the next game and there could be as many as three of them.

India opted for KL Rahul opening the innings with Rohit Sharma, breaking their established opening duo of Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan. Jadeja felt the hosts could rest Rohit, who has been playing continuous cricket since the ODIs in Australia, for the second game with Dhawan returning to the XI. Rahul played a much-needed knock of a fifty in the first game that might have even brightened his chances of playing in the World Cup as well.

Pant could still get a game and Karthik might miss out

The former India cricketer, who was a specialist in the limited overs, also felt that either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik could be rested in Bengaluru and Vijay Shankar could get a game. Kohli though hinted at more matches for Pant as the decision over picking him or not for the WC is still not settled.

Both Pant and Karthik failed in the first match with the former coming under criticism for getting run-out. Jadeja also felt that pacer Siddharth Kaul could get a call in place of Umesh Yadav who failed to bowl the final over successfully in Visakhapatnam.

“Maybe Rohit gets a rest. Not because of his performance. Kohli sicks to three. Rishabh Pant had one game, MS Dhoni had one game, Krunal Pandya has just come in. Vijay Shankar is someone who played at No.3 in Kohli’s absence, but now he is not there in the side.

Siddharth Kaul will certainly get a game and Umesh will be rested. Jasprit Bumrah will play, Yuzvendra Chahal will play and Markande will play. So either of Pant or Karthik will be rested for Shankar,” the 48-year-old Jadeja was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

[interaction id=”5c7130539551ceb758447944″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from India vs Australia series, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.