3 players who are likely to be dropped from India's T20 side 

The Indian team was supposed to beat the average-looking Australian team comfortably in the T20 series. Even though India were without Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya, the fringe players were expected to grab the last few opportunities before the World Cup 2019.

Players like Umesh Yadav, Siddarth Kaul, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul haven't secured a place in India's World Cup squad yet, and a good performance in the T20 series would have made their case stronger. While a few of these players succeeded in doing so, most of them failed miserably.

After defeating the Indian team in a last-ball thriller in the first T20, the Australian team registered an emphatic victory in the second match played at Bengaluru. The poor show of some players was the major reason for India's defeat.

Even though the focus right now is on the ODI World Cup, the selectors will have an eye on next year's World T20 too, which will be held in Australia. Here, we take a look at 3 players who might be dropped from India's T20 side after the series loss against Australia.

#3 Siddarth Kaul

Kaul hasn't been able to replicate his IPL form at international level

Siddarth Kaul has had a couple of fruitful IPL seasons playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad; he has been an effective death bowler and has been a wicket-taking option for them because of his variations. However, his international career has been a sad story so far.

Kaul made his debut against England last year but failed to perform and was dropped from the side. However, he was again included in the T20 squad against Australia; the right-arm pacer replaced Umesh Yadav in the second match.

Kaul started well today, picking up Marcus Stoinis in his first over, but he leaked too many runs in the end overs. He gave away 45 runs in 3.4 overs and is likely to be dropped from the T20 squad.

#2 Rishabh Pant

Pant needs to work on his temperament and shot selection

Despite having an abundance of talent, Rishabh Pant has been disappointing for India in white ball cricket. Pant has achieved new heights in Test cricket, but his performance in ODIs and T20s has been underwhelming.

The dashing left-hand batsman has frequently lit up IPL with his belligerent batting. Considering his impressive IPL record, he has been given ample chances in India's limited-overs sides. While he is still uncertain about a place in India's World Cup squad, Pant has failed to grab eyeballs in T20 cricket.

Even though he has shown glimpses of his big hitting abilities, the wicket-keeper batsman hasn't been consistent. He has also been guilty of not playing according to the situation.

Pant got himself run out in the first T20 going for a needless run, while in the second he went for the big heave as pressure mounted on him after playing a few dot balls. The selectors might consider asking Pant to spend some time in domestic cricket before being considered for India's T20 team again.

#1 Umesh Yadav

How many more chances for Umesh Yadav in T20s and ODIs?

Umesh Yadav's selection in the T20 side raised quite a few eyebrows. The Vidarbha pacer hasn't been a regular in India's T20 side; he last played in the Indian T20 side against England, where he went for quite a few runs and as a result was dropped.

The speedster hasn't been in the best of form in ODIs either. He was picked in India's ODI squad against West Indies but was dropped for the series against Australia and New Zealand.

However, his comeback in the T20 side was seen as a way to get in the reckoning for India's World Cup squad. Australia were chasing a low total in the first T20 and all the Indian bowlers were expected to bowl tight lines. But Umesh gave too many runs in the powerplays to release the pressure on the batsmen.

The other bowlers then got India back in the game through some stunning bowling in the death overs, and gave Umesh 14 runs to defend in the final over. Sadly for him, Yadav crumbled under the pressure and erred in line as well as length and Australia won the match off the last ball.

This poor performance might not only cost Umesh a place in India's T20 side, but potentially end his World Cup dreams too.