Team India has dominated England in Tests. After the four Tests, these two teams will battle in T20Is. The series will have five matches. All matches will happen at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Team India have announced a stellar squad for this series.
Since it is a T20 World Cup year, it seems like the Indian team management wants to try some new players. Rahul Tewatia, Suraykumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Varun CV could make their debuts in this series. India starts as the favourite to win this series because they have the home advantage. Also, India beat Australia 2-1 recently. Here’s a detailed SWOT Analysis of Team India’s squad for the England T20Is.
Strengths – Team India has a solid top-order
Team India has a very strong top-order lineup for the home T20I series against England. KL Rahul had a fantastic 2020 in T20 cricket. Shikhar Dhawan was the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2020. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have done a splendid job in all formats. Shreyas Iyer has been a great batting option.
The addition of Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan makes Team India more strong. Both Yadav and Ishan performed consistently for MI in IPL 2020. It will be interesting to see which player makes the cut to the playing XI. The team management will have a dilemma here. All six players deserve a spot in the Top 4.
Weaknesses – Will Team India’s woes against spin be exposed?
Team India had a tough time in the powerplay overs against the spinner in Australia. Mitchell Swepson and Glenn Maxwell troubled Team India a lot in the previous T20I series. In the pink-ball Test, Ahmedabad’s surface assisted the spinners. The same is expected for the fourth Test. Even the T20I series will happen here.
Hence, there is a chance that England’s spinners could trouble the Indian batsmen. Virat Kohli has struggled a bit against leg-spin. Moeen Ali will return for the T20Is. Even Adil Rashid is in England’s T20I squad. Hence, this could be Team India’s weakness.
Opportunities – Golden chance for Rahul Tewatia and Axar Patel
Ravindra Jadeja suffered an injury against Australia. That injury kept him out of the Tests against England. Jadeja will also miss the England T20Is. Hence, there will be a spot open in the T20I team. Axar Patel grabbed the opportunity by both hands in Test cricket.
However, Rahul Tewatia is also present in the T20I squad. So, there will be a competition between Patel and Tewatia for Jadeja’s spot. The player who performs better will likely make it to the T20 World Cup squad. Hence, this is a golden chance for both players. Patel and Tewatia will be keen to impress against England.
Threats – Final combination for pacers
Team India will be spoilt for choices in the pace attack. They have five top-quality pacers available in their squad. Jasprit Bumrah will not play the T20Is. So, the final combination will be a headache for Team India. Who will open the bowling and who will bowl in the death? These two questions need to be answered against England.
Natarajan is likely to play all matches. But out of the four remaining names, only one or two might earn a place. So, it will be a very decision to make. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is coming back after an injury. Deepak Chahar was not so exceptional against Australia. Shardul Thakur offers another batting option in the unit. Navdeep Saini has the pace. The only threat for Team India is they should not make the wrong choice and assess the conditions properly before finalizing which two or three pacers will fit the best in the playing XI.
