3 changes India can consider for 2nd T20I vs West Indies

Team India will look to level the series when they square off against the West Indies in the second T20I at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday, August 6.

The Men in Blue suffered a shocking defeat in the first fixture to go down 0-1 in the five-match series. A young batting unit succumbed to the pressure of run-chase, eking out only 145 while chasing 150 runs.

Tilak Varma, who made his debut in the last game, was the top-scorer for his side, smashing a 22-ball 39, including two boundaries and three sixes. Suryakumar Yadav (21) also played a decent hand but the rest of the middle order struggled to get going.

India will be desperate to bounce back in the second game on Sunday and level terms in the five-match series. On that note, let's take a look at three changes the Men in Blue could make in the second T20I against the West Indies.

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#1 Umran Malik in for Mukesh Kumar

Mukesh Kumar made his T20I debut in the first game against the West Indies at the Brian Lara Stadium. However, he lacked penetration with the new ball, returning with figures of 0/24 in three overs.

India could consider bringing in tearaway pacer Umran Malik in place of Mukesh. Known for his raw pace, the Jammu and Kashmir-born fast bowler can rattle batters both with the new ball and the old cherry.

While there are concerns over his economy rate, Umran's ability to bowl in different phases of the game and pick up wickets could be taken into account by the Indian think tank.

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#2 Ravi Bishnoi in for Axar Patel

The Gujarat-born all-rounder looked toothless with the ball in the first T20I against the Men in Maroon. Axar Patel bowled only two overs in the match and conceded 22 runs at an economy rate of 11 runs per over.

Axar failed to contribute with the bat either, managing only 13 runs off 11 balls. He didn't look convincing during his stay in the middle.

Injecting Ravi Bishnoi into the mix will increase wicket-taking options for Hardik Pandya. The young leg-spinner is known to be a partnership-breaker and can even bowl inside the powerplay.

Bishnoi has 16 wickets under his belt in 10 T20Is at an average of 17.12 with the best figures of 4/16.

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#3 Yashasvi Jaiswal in for Shubman Gill

While it looks like a far-fetched move given that Shubman Gill has had an excellent start to his T20I career, giving an opportunity to Yashasvi Jaiswal in the series will only keep the Indian think tank in good stead as they look to build a squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Jaiswal had a rollicking campaign for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL 2023, scoring 625 runs in 14 matches at an average of 48.08 and a strike rate of 163.61. The left-handed batter also struck a century and five fifties over the course of the tournament.

He also had a good Test debut in the two-match series against the West Indies, amassing 266 runs in three innings at an average of 88.67.

India could be tempted to test Yashasvi Jaiswal against a potent West Indies bowling attack, given that Shubman Gill has struggled for form in recent times.