"India have been unfortunate that they have batted first" - Sanjay Manjrekar recommends a change in India's XI for the 3rd T20I vs South Africa

Sanjay Manjrekar is not in favor of Team India making wholesale changes to their playing XI for the third T20I against South Africa.

The Men In Blue head into the third game of the five-match series with their backs to the wall, having come up short in both encounters thus far. They will hope to stage a comeback in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday (June 14) to keep alive their hopes of winning the series.

During an interaction on Sports 18, Sanjay Manjrekar was asked if Team India should make wholesale changes for the third T20I. He responded:

"Not yet. India have been unfortunate that they have batted first and batting second is always an advantage, no matter what people say. You have that slightly better batting conditions because of the coolness of the night and stuff like that. So India will be hoping that they bat second in one of the games."

The cricketer-turned-analyst, however, feels Rishabh Pant's side could make an odd change. Sanjay Manjrekar observed:

"But then there is a need for maybe a couple of changes here and there. There aren't too many exciting options because the guys who are playing are pretty exciting themselves, but I would make maybe one change if not two."

In the batting department, Ruturaj Gaikwad is the only player whose place can come under scrutiny. However, the Indian think-tank could consider making a few changes to their bowling, especially with their spinners failing to deliver the goods.

---

"The spinners haven't got the wickets" - Sanjay Manjrekar wants Umran Malik to play instead of Axar Patel

Axar Patel has been taken to the cleaners in the two T20Is thus far

Sanjay Manjrekar highlighted the Indian spinners' poor returns in the series to date. He explained:

"The interesting thing is that two T20Is have happened, India have played two spinners and we have got just two wickets to show. So the spinners haven't got the wickets and India when they win T20Is, they generally do so because the spinners do the job in the middle and that hasn't happened."

The 56-year-old concluded by advocating the inclusion of Umran Malik at the expense of Axar Patel. Sanjay Manjrekar reasoned:

"So here is my recommendation. Have somebody like an Umran Malik to come in because pitches aren't rank turners. If you have rank turners, maybe Axar Patel is a more effective bowler because India needs wickets. So have Umran Malik purely because he has the ability to get wickets in the middle."

Axar has conceded 59 runs in the five overs he has bowled in the series so far and has picked up just one wicket. However, his exclusion from the playing XI could compromise the depth of the Indian batting, with him being the only bowling all-rounder in the squad.