IND vs AUS 2022: 3 India players who are under pressure to perform in the series

India will take on Australia in a three-match T20I series, starting on Tuesday, September 20. The first match will take place in Mohali and once again, this series will be an important one for the management to take stock of their players ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Rohit Sharma and Co. were not at their best at the Asia Cup 2022 despite giving chances to a whole host of players. There are plenty of questions that need to be answered ahead of the global T20 competition.

Australia are in India without Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh, but they have enough firepower to test the hosts. The Men in Blue have named a strong squad to take on the defending world champions and this series will test a few key players ahead of the marquee tournament.

On that note, we take a look at three Indian players who will be under pressure to deliver ahead of the T20 World Cup.

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#3 Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel will be key in the death overs.

Harshal Patel was ruled out of the Asia Cup with a rib injury, but is now back for the series against the Aussies. He is also in India's squad for the T20 World Cup and now has to showcase his mettle against a power-packed Australian batting order.

Harshal is known for his slower balls as well as a superb dipping yorker. He was the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2021 and this saw him get an India cap last November.

One year down, he has emerged a key member of the T20I bowling attack and with his ability to use the long handle lower down the order, he will be keen to find his rhythm in this series.

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#2 KL Rahul

KL Rahul needs to get cracking in powerplay.

KL Rahul found some form towards the end of the Asia Cup, but with Virat Kohli cracking a century as an opener, the Men in Blue have found a third opener. However, captain Rohit Sharma threw his support behind Rahul to get the job done as his opening partner.

"KL Rahul, according to me, will play the World Cup and open. His performances for India tend to go unnoticed. He is a very important player for India. If you look at his record over the last two-three years, it is very good," Rohit Sharma said to reporters ahead of the series.

Rahul appeared to struggle to get going in the powerplay but over the years he has been India's best batter in this format.

The Karnataka-born cricketer will find the conditions in Australia to his liking, but before that he needs a good series to get things rolling and settle the debate as far as his role in the team is concerned.

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#1 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant needs to fire in T20Is.

After a superb start to his T20 career, Rishabh Pant has tapered off in the shortest format of the game. For his talent and match-winning abilities in Test cricket, his T20I numbers are below par.

As far as stats are concerned, he has averaged a fraction over 29 since 2019 while his strike rate is around 127 in 78 T20 innings.

In international T20s, he averages 24.48, while his strike rate is even worse. There have been some brilliant performances all the while, but only 20 of Pant's 78 innings have come at a strike rate of over 150. In almost all these matches, he has come in to bat at No. 5 or earlier.

He could once again be the main guy for India in the middle order and hence, this series could well determine his place in India's playing XI in the World Cup.