New Zealand vs India 2019: 3 changes India could make in the first T20I

#2 Play Dinesh Karthik

Karthik would be the ideal finisher in the T20 format

Dinesh Karthik was left out of the starting eleven in the final ODI as MS Dhoni made his return to the fold. However, in the games preceding the encounter, the former had proven himself to be a bankable option in the middle-order.

Over the course of the Australia and New Zealand series, one thing became clear, Karthik relishes the shorter situations where he doesn’t need to think much about his batting and can play his natural game.

He did so at Adelaide and ably supported MS in the run chase while the said trait again came to the fore in the third ODI in New Zealand. However, when presented with the opportunity to build an innings, the lad from Tamil Nadu failed to capitalise. The games at Sydney and Hamilton being prime examples.

The action now shifts to the shortest format, where Karthik will rarely be coming in with more than eight overs to bat. Thus, India can unlock his vast finishing potential and his blend of brawn and brain could work a treat.

Though there is no doubt that Karthik needs to play at Wellington, getting him into the XI is a slightly trickier proposition. A probable change could be bringing in Karthik for Jadhav as India might not need the latter to roll his arm over in a T20 game. Hence, we can only wait to see how Karthik is accommodated in the XI if he is at all.