After winning the Test and ODI series, the Indian team’s focus will now turn to the five-match T20I series against the West Indies which begins on August 3, 2023, with the first encounter at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad.
The Indian squad for the T20Is does not feature Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Virat Kohli and the Men in Blue will be captained by Hardik Pandya and will feature a couple of new faces as the BCCI aims to build a younger lot keeping in mind the 2024 T20 World Cup which will be hosted in West Indies and USA in June next year.
Therefore, the team management will be enticed to give chances to fresher legs, and hence here is the COC predicted Team India Playing XI for the first T20I in Trinidad.
While India has the option of giving chances to new faces in the five T20I matches, it is expected that Hardik Pandya and co would love to pick the best side which is in form, and go with them.
This might mean Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill will continue to open for the Indian team with the option of bringing in Yashasvi Jaiswal as well. Especially since Kishan made three consecutive fifties in ODIs and Shubman hit form in the third ODI as well.
Keeping the same theme, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, and Hardik Pandya will be making up the middle order as well.
One new face that can get a chance is Tilak Varma to break the monotony of right-handed batters in the batting order.
The third ODI showcased that there wasn’t much spin on offer and instead, India could opt for Akshar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav as two spinners, with Patel lengthening the batting as well. There are also Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal to choose from.
Indian team is spoilt for choices as Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Umran Malik will be gearing for the pacers spot with Hardik Pandya to support them.
COC predicted Team India Playing XI for the first T20I:
Ishan Kishan (WK), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya (C), Tilak Varma, Akshar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
