India vs New Zealand 2017: India's probable XI for 3rd T20I

A wildcard entry to solve India's middle-order woes, Dinesh Karthik has pipped the likes of Manish Pandey and KL Rahul in the ODI set-up, but did not get to play in the one-off T20Is against Sri Lanka and Australia. He has played 10 T20Is over eleven years, but the veteran batsman is known to mould himself in any position, and can be employed to beef-up India's frangible batting order.

Built like a marathon runner but skilled like a butcher, Hardik Pandya has been a revelation in ODIs, but seems to be dealing with a mental block in T20s, surprisingly, a format in which he rose to prominence. After 23 T20Is, Pandya’s batting average is 9.69 and strike-rate in the early 120s, figures that don’t come close to proving the value he can provide to the team. He should be given an out-and-out finisher's role so that he knows his approach and doesn’t have a cloudy brain when he bats next.

“I don’t want to be Ravindra Jadeja’s replacement”. Three years after his international debut, Axar Patel has done enough with the ball to carve a name of his own, but still needs to smoothen rough edges if he wants a long haul. His batting can be best described as a goldfish masquerading as a whale, but his sly variations during the middle overs give a handy slant to the bowling line-up. If he can beef up his skills with the willow, the Indian jersey will be found hanging more often in his cupboard.