India will take on Bangladesh in three T20Is starting on Sunday (October 6). What can they learn from this series?
This is India's third T20I series following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup in July, and the composition of the side under Gautam Gambhir has yet to be fully nailed down.
A couple of youthful Indian sides following the retirements from the format of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja did well to win 4-1 in Zimbabwe and 3-0 in Sri Lanka and will now embark on their first home series under the new team management.
But what might India be looking to get out of the series? Here are a couple of the key points.
Sanju Samson's viability as an opener
One of the most striking things about the squad India picked for the serieswas the apparent lack of an opening batter, beyond Abhishek Sharma. Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are both Test regulars, and have been rested with a busy red-ball season ahead.
On Saturday, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav reportedly confirmed via PTI that wicketkeeper Sanju Samson would open the batting in the first T20I alongside Abhishek. Indeed, among the current squad members he has opened the innings the most times for India (five).
With more or less no competition for his slot, this is one of the best chances Samson will get to carve out a spot for himself in international cricket. It is likely that in the long-term, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill are the first choice openers but India will want to see whether Samson (along with Abhishek) can do well at the top of the order and put himself up as an option anywhere in India's top three.
Depth of pace stocks at international level
India have selected two uncapped pacers in Harshit Rana and Mayank Yadav for this series, with one of them almost guaranteed to debut in the first T20I in Gwalior on Sunday. Building a stock of fast-bowling options has been of great importance to India in red-ball cricket, but they will no doubt want to do the same for T20s as well.
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Beyond Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, India have also looked at the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar in recent times. If Harshit and/or Mayank can show they belong at international level, it might give the selectors some good headaches.
An additional point with regard to Mayank Yadav would be for India to test whether his body is able to handle the physical strain of fast bowling, given his struggles with injury.
Is Hardik Pandya's successor in the squad?
Pace-bowling all-rounders remain a rarity in Indian cricket, something that means the national side has tried every possible avenue to make Hardik Pandya a three-format player. Shivam Dube has not done enough with the ball to be a reliable bowling option, and beyond him there are very few who fit this profile.
One of them, though, is Nitish Kumar Reddy. He showcased his talent with the bat in the IPL, and was impressive with the red ball in the Duleep Trophy. Following Dube's injury, it is not inconceivable that Reddy plays all three matches now, perhaps even alongside Pandya.
Like with Harshit and Mayank, if Reddy can put in some solid performances in an India shirt, it would help ease the load on Pandya and give India more options with respect to team combinations going forward.
How far can India go with their all-round options?
One of the criticisms of India's T20 World Cup-winning unit was the lack of bowling options among their top five batters. But the current squad is loaded with them. Indeed, India could play an XI that has ten bowling options (including Suryakumar Yadav and/or Rinku Singh, who bowled in Sri Lanka) plus one keeper.
With two genuine pace-bowling all-rounders (Reddy and Pandya), three spin-bowling batters (Abhishek, Tilak Varma, Riyan Parag), a spinner who can bat (Washington Sundar) and a pacer who can bat (Harshit), India are blessed with flexibility.
This flexibility is something the team management has been keen on, as shown by their willingness to throw the ball to even the likes of SKY and Rinku on the previous tour.
The players at their disposal also make it possible, and India will surely want to see if they can play three different types of combinations with equal success over the course of these matches.
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