Dilemma of the Indian Batting Order 

As indicated by his decisions and moves in the 2 T20Is against Ireland, it is reasonably obvious that Virat Kohli is trying to work out different possible batting line-ups in order to 'surprise' the opposition. While some experiments certainly did succeed, some most certainly did not.

The Indian Team is blessed to possess numerous talented batsmen. With batting going very deep, the stability in the line-up is extremely evident. However, one good headache Virat Kohli would be experiencing would be to decide which players to pick in the playing XI and when to send them to bat. As seen in the 1st T20I versus Ireland, the entire crowd expected Virat Kohli to take center stage after Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed after an explosive knock of 74 off 45. However, the viewers instead witnessed Suresh Raina come in at no.3. For many, this was not a surprise since they remembered that even in the tour to South Africa, Kohli had given up his no.3 position for Raina. Therefore, what actually was striking was that MS Dhoni was sent out to bat at 2 down, due to the situation India were in with just 2.1 overs to go to the end of the innings. Astonishingly, Hardik Pandya was another batsman that came onto the pitch before the skipper, courtesy to the situation and Pandya's ability to hit every ball out of the ground. Not surprisingly, these gambles made by the skipper actually paid off. Raina played with a strike rate of 166.67, Dhoni with 220.00 and Pandya hitting a six of the only ball he faced. Therefore, while the playing XI was not much of a surprise for the first match of the 2-match series, the batting order was a pleasant one.

While the gamble taken by the captain and coach paid off in the 1st match, the following match saw something completely opposite. Firstly, as mentioned by the skipper before, this match was more to give all the bench players more opportunities. This meant the likes of MS Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shikhar Dhawan made way for the rest of the squad to prove their ability in challenging conditions.

With KL Rahul entering the team for Dhawan, everyone expected to see him walk out with Rohit Sharma after India were put to bat first. However, everyone was left amazed when they saw Virat Kohli accompanying his former RCB teammate out on the ground. Most fans expected fireworks from the word go, remembering the damage Virat 'The Run Machine' Kohli did in the 2016 IPL as an opener. While, the fans were pleased with glorious hitting, it was not from the bat of the skipper but from the bat of KL Rahul, with Virat evidently not playing like himself, falling eventually for just 9 runs. When they got together after the match, the team management must have talked about how that risk did not pay off considering they had one of the best, if not the best, limited-overs opener in the world currently who made a staggering 97 in the previous game-but was asked to play at 2 down and got out for a duck.

Even then, this was only because of 'surprising' the opposition and 'giving everyone a chance out in the middle', the team management and captain should have consulted Rohit Sharma's recent record batting in the middle order in the shortest format of the game. Aka his form in this year's IPL. This year's IPL was one of the worst for the Mumbai Indians captain. His team did not qualify for the playoffs even after staging a comeback in the latter half of the group stage. Making it worse, this was the first season when Hit-Man couldn't pass the 300 run barrier. He ended the IPL with just 286 runs with an average of 23.83, batting in the middle order. Therefore, the biggest gambles taken by the Indian team in the final match of the series did not go their way, however did not stop them from winning both matches and lifting yet another cup!

Adding on, yesterday was the conclusion of the much anticipated T20I series between India and England. Before the match last night, the series was level with both teams winning 1 match each and going into the decider with impeccable form. After being put into bat first England set India a target of 199 runs. Usually a mammoth score, however, due to the situation, pitch and start England got, 198 was just about the par score. However, chasing 199 runs in a mere 120 balls is always a huge task, demanding the best from the batsmen. Contrary to the Ireland series, Rohit Sharma along with Dhawan started off the innings for India. With Virat Kohli continuing to believe the no.3 spot is better for KL Rahul, he once again entered the ground at 2 down and almost stayed till the end with Rohit Sharma before getting out, caught & bowled by Chris Jordan.

Once again, with yet another different situation on their hands, the team management decided to send Hardik Pandya out before Dhoni and Raina as India required just 40-odd runs in 4 overs. While Rohit's splendid 100*, Virat's well-judged 43 and Hardik's explosive 33 provided India with a win, is the batting line-up still stable? As we have seen over the past 3-4 years, Virat Kohli is the best he can be for his team when batting at no.3. Should he really give up that spot? It is no secret that nowadays MS Dhoni requires a couple of overs to settle in, which might partially be the reason Pandya came in before him as India needed 10 runs/over. Therefore, should Dhoni be pushed up in the batting order to provide him more time to express himself? If yes, who will move down or even miss out in the playing XI? If MSD does move up the order, who will be the experienced finisher for India, who can absorb all the pressure and score 22 runs of the last over jus as Dhoni did in the 2nd T20I? These are questions that require answers and require them quickly.

In conclusion, while it is good that the Indian team is taking risks now to help perfect their World Cup playing XI for next year, they will need to be much more careful against England, who will be entering this series on a high note from, sweeping Australia in the limited overs formats. As this is an important tour for India, but England is no Ireland, one mistake can be extremely costly for the Indians.