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Team India went into the Asia Cup 2022 as one of the favorites to lift the title. They began the tournament in an impressive fashion, defeating Pakistan by five wickets in a nerve-wracking encounter. Although they were not at their best against Hong Kong, they did well enough to register a 40-run win and confirm their berth in the Super 4 round.
Ahead of facing Pakistan for the second time in the tournament, Team India suffered a major setback as all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the Asia Cup due to a knee injury. Jadeja’s exit sent India into panic mode as they made key changes to their squad for the Super 4 game against Pakistan. Their strategy failed though as they were unsuccessful in defending 181 and suffered a five-wicket loss.
Following the defeat to their arch-rivals, India faced a must-win encounter against Sri Lanka. They came second best again as the Lankans sneaked home to a six-wicket triumph in a last-over thriller. There is still a mathematical possibility of Team India reaching the final, but it is a highly unrealistic one, almost bordering on miraculous.
With their hopes of reaching the Asia Cup final as good as over, here are three changes Team India can try out in their last Super 4 match against Afghanistan on Thursday, September 8.
#1 Axar Patel for Deepak Hooda
Axar Patel was picked as a like-for-like replacement for the injured Jadeja. He can bowl left-arm spin, is more than a decent batter and a safe fielder as well. The 28-year-old has displayed good form in his recent white-ball appearances for Team India. Hence, it was a surprise that he wasn’t given a go against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The all-rounder smashed a match-winning 64* off 35 balls in the second ODI against West Indies in Port of Spain in July. It was a knock that came under pressure as Team India were in a tough situation while chasing 312. He also played a couple of other handy cameos during the tour. On the bowling front, he managed only two wickets in three ODIs, but claimed five wickets in two T20Is.
The left-arm spinner was also the leading wicket-taker in the ODI series in Zimbabwe. He claimed six scalps in three matches at an impressive average of 12.33. In contrast, Deepak Hooda struggled for rhythm with the bat both against the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
He was picked ahead of Axar in the Super 4 matches because he could bowl some off-spin, apart from offering his big-hitting ability. He failed with the bat in both games and did not bowl a single over.
Team India would do well to give Hooda a break and bring in Axar against Afghanistan.
#2 Dinesh Karthik for Rishabh Pant
In India’s first match of the Asia Cup, Dinesh Karthik was picked ahead of Rishabh Pant. Although it was a much-debated decision, at least the think tank had taken a tough stand over the keeper-batter puzzle. However, after the injury to Jadeja, Karthik suddenly found himself out of favor, without having done anything wrong.
He did not have much to do in India’s opening match against Pakistan as Hardik Pandya finished off the game with a six. The finisher did not get to bat against Hong Kong as Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli struck unbeaten half-centuries. Come the Super 4, though, Pant was preferred over Karthik, as India needed a left-hander in the middle order.
The move backfired as Pant’s poor performances in T20I cricket continued. He played a needless reverse-sweep against Pakistan and was dismissed for 14. In the must-win game against Sri Lanka as well, he was out for 17.
In his T20I career, the 24-year-old has scored 914 runs in 57 matches at an average of 23.43 and a strike rate of 126.24.
In contrast, Karthik has already won two Player of the Match awards since returning to the T20I squad in June.
#3 Ravi Bishnoi for Yuzvendra Chahal
Team India came in for plenty of flak for going in with two leg-spinners in their first Super 4 match against Pakistan. The ploy did not work as left-hander Mohammad Nawaz used the match-up to his advantage. He was particularly severe on Yuzvendra Chahal, who ended up conceding 43 runs in his four overs. The less-fancied leggie, Ravi Bishnoi, produced better figures, finishing with one for 26.
Before the game against Sri Lanka, Chahal had only managed one wicket in three matches. Yet, it wasn’t a surprise to see him being picked ahead of Bishnoi for the must-win encounter against Sri Lanka.
Bishnoi was dropped in favor of Ravichandran Ashwin. Although he had done nothing wrong, it was an understandable move, as India needed an off-spinner to add variety to their bowling.
With qualification for the final all but out of the question, Team India would do well to reward Bishnoi with a place in the playing XI for the Afghanistan clash.
It would be unfair to drop Ashwin after just one game, so Chahal could be rested for Thursday’s match.
Also Read: Asia Cup 2022: “MS Dhoni ran out a lot of batters in such situations” - Virender Sehwag feels luck deserted India against Sri Lanka
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