Australia vs India 2018: 3 players who might be dropped for the 3rd T20I

The second T20I between India and Australia was abandoned and yielded no result due to heavy and incessant rain. India had the advantage before the downpour started but the abandonment means that India won't be able to win their 8th consecutive T20I series.

Khaleel Ahmed was offered another start as India remained unchanged and the decision paid off. After Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed Aaron Finch early, Khaleel Ahmed took the 2 crucial wickets of Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell and left the Aussies reeling at 40/3 after 6 overs.

Jasprit Bumrah, Krunal Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav were economical and each chipped in with 1 wicket. Ben McDermott and Nathan Coulter-Nile led the rearguard action and they helped the Aussies to get to a decent total before the rain started.

However, there were a few players who failed to shine and might be dropped from their respective sides ahead of the next game.

Here, we take a look at 3 players who might find their places in jeopardy:

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#3 Jason Behrendorff

Coulter-Nile replaced Billy Stanlake in the Aussie lineup and gave a good batting performance but wasn't given the opportunity to bowl. While Stanlake gave a decent performance in the first T20I, Behrendorff was expensive and was pretty lucky to get his wicket.

Since Behrendorff didn't get the chance to bowl due to the rain interruption, Stanlake might be recalled to the XI for the 3rd T20I.

Behrendorff has the experience and talent to be a great death bowler, but that role is already occupied by the impressive Andrew Tye. Stanlake's height and express pace might be a better option in the next game.

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#2 D'Arcy Short

The Aussie opener hasn't had a good time in this series and is struggling to middle the ball. The Indian pacers have caused him a lot of trouble and the Australian team can consider bringing in an all-rounder like Ashton Agar into the side and promoting Chris Lynn up the order to open the batting.

Their batting order is not too deep but their bowlers have shown that they can bat. Someone like Alex Carey and Ben McDermott should be given more opportunities up front and this can happen if Short is replaced. Though this is unlikely, this can be a plan which India won't be prepared for and can help take them by surprise.

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#1 KL Rahul

KL Rahul's place is at stake especially because he didn't get the chance to bat in the second match due to rain. Rahul hasn't been in the best of form but the Indian team management seems to recognize his potential and have continued to back him continuously. Moreover, he still remains in the 4th spot in the ICC T20 Rankings for batsmen.

If Rahul is given the chance to open the batting, he can play with more freedom but the management have hesitated to break the Dhawan-Rohit partnership at the top. There have been many calls to give Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey chances to play and there is a chance that India might consider dropping Rahul in place of one of the two aforementioned names for the 3rd T20I.