India recently won the T20I series at home against South Africa by 2-1. But, there are certain decisions because of which they have come under the scanner.
Giving rest to KL Rahul and Virat Kohli was not a good option for India going into the 3rd T20I.
However, Arshdeep Singh had a back niggle before the third T20I because of which India had to bring in another seamer which is perfectly fine.
India should have continued to keep pretty much the same team for the last T20I as well.
Let’s look at the three reasons why India did make those unforced changes.
Firstly, playing Rishabh Pant as an opener in the shortest format doesn’t make much sense as he is better suited for a middle-order role.
Rohit has made it explicitly clear that he wants to open with Rahul and keep Kohli as a backup opener.
Additionally, Dinesh Karthik may pip Pant in the playing XI for India in the T20 World Cup anyhow.
Thus, Pant should’ve been given more game time in the middle order in the third T20I.
Secondly, during this phase, India needs some stability in their team which they haven’t been able to achieve so far.
Over the past year, India has made several changes both in personnel and players but has not played as a very settled outfit.
That’s why the changes in the top three during the 3rd T20I did not make matters any better.
And lastly, both KL Rahul and Virat Kohli haven’t done much to get a well-deserved rest. They have just recently been back in good form.
Rahul looked completely out of touch during the Asia Cup while Kohli found his mojo back in the tournament.
Both these players should have jumped at every possible opportunity to play every T20I game before the World Cup which they didn’t.
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