India’s Predicted Playing XI For 1st T20I vs West Indies, Kolkata: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan Likely to Make Cut

Kolkata: After a tremendous start to the white ball captaincy against the West Indies in the ODI series, Rohit Sharma will be looking to replicate the same in the T20 series starting February 16. West Indies might be lackluster side in the ODI’s, however in T20’s, they are a formidable side.

The T20 squad for India has been a mixture of experience and aggression at the same time. In comparison to ODIs, the T20I series is expected to be more competitive as the shortest format of the game is arguably the West Indies’ strongest suit.

In their most recent T20I outing, West Indies registered a 3-2 series win against England. On the other hand, India are also on a six-match winning streak in the T20 format. After winning against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia in the T20 World Cup, India also blanked New Zealand 3-0 at home.

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There will be some changes in India’s ODI set-up, where the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Harshal Patel and Venkatesh Iyer could slot in. Bhuvneshwar Kumar could also return to add some experience to the bowling unit. Washington Sundar though has been ruled out after suffering a hamstring muscle strain.

Though, the most pressing question for India is: who will be Rohit Sharma’s opening partner in absence of KL Rahul who also has been ruled out of the series due to injury. The likes of Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer are the three options, who could open the innings for India. Kishan, who got a hefty deal in the recently concluded IPL mega auction and has opened for India in the past as well, could be the front-runner for the position.

India Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan