3 Players Who Need To Step Up in Dhoni's Absence In The Upcoming T20I Series

MS Dhoni is highly regarded and considered as one of the best finishers in the history of the game. But right now at 37, he has shown signs of slowing down, albeit not by much, his contributions have not been significant as one may expect him to perform at, and even Dhoni would have realized it by now.

With his omission in the upcoming 3 T20I games against the West Indies, it gives an opportunity for some players to try and make a point to prove their selection for this series.

Filling the void which will be left by arguably India's greatest ever captain will be a huge responsibility for any player to handle. But it is time for some of India's highly regarded young stars to step up their game and prove their worth in Dhoni's absence.

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#3 Manish Pandey

Australia v India - Game 5

Manish Pandey, remembered by many as the first Indian batsman to score a century in the IPL, has had a rather underwhelming international career. At 29, he has made a name for himself in the IPL, but his performances for the national team haven't been convincing, with just two 50's and a solitary century in 18 innings.

After a rather disappointing IPL season this time around for the runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad, he really needs to live up to his name and prove a point to the selectors to make his name a regular fixture for India.

With the addition of an athletic fielder along with an explosive middle order batting, it'll be time for Manish to stamp his authority that he is capable of playing in the highest level.

His record for India in T20Is has been really impressive, with an average of 42.9, he needs to make a point in the upcoming T20 series against West Indies.

#2 Shreyas Iyer

South Africa v India - 5th Momentum ODI

The young lad from Delhi has been a revelation since his exploits in the IPL for Delhi Daredevils. Captaining the Delhi side, he surely tried his level best at such a young age. He averaged 37.36 and scored 411 in 14 matches for Delhi.

Despite being only 23, he showed lot of maturity in this IPL, shouldering responsibility with the bat and also in the field as well.

With India's middle order problems continuing, he needs to be the aggressor in the top order to give the push for the team to score more runs. Testing him in the middle order might not be the worst thing to do either, with Shreyas striking the ball at a healthy strike-rate of 132.58 in the IPL 2018.

With huge potential and a future ahead of him if keeps performing at the same level, this is the time for him to prove his worth to the team if selected.

#1 Rishabh Pant

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day Five

The time has finally come for the 21-year old from Uttarakhand, as he has been tearing up the opposition bowlers with every opportunity he has got. Although he had a couple of poor outings against West Indies in the recently concluded ODI series, his worth cannot be undermined.

Highly regarded by some as the successor to Dhoni himself, Pant has surely proven that he has the temperament to be the next big star in Indian cricket. Having had an amazing IPL, scoring 684 runs at a strike-rate of 173.6, he surely is a star in the making.

This tour will be an example for how much Rishabh and Shreys can shoulder the responsibility like they did for their IPL franchise, and to make themselves a regular fixture for India in both ODI's and T20's. With Pant already having had Test match experience, it'll show him how important it is to play according to what the situation is at stake.