Hardik Pandya’s injury has disturbed Indian team’s combination. Can Rohit & Co. overcome this hurdle?
But before looking so far ahead, India need to consider New Zealand and Dharamsala. This is the last venue in which India would have wanted to play this particular opponent.
Altitude, cooler climes, the potential for the weather to change at extremely short notice all make for a contest in which swing could play a bigger part than in other Indian venues.
New Zealand have just the bowling attack to exploit these conditions.
Although truth be told, Trent Boult will bend the new ball back into the righthanded batsman in any conditions. His accuracy and ability to also slant the ball away from right-hand batsmen make him a serious threat first up.
In Matt Henry and Lock Ferguson, New Zealand have serious pace and with Tim Southee all set to return, the bowling stocks are in fine shape.
Back this up with Mitch Santner, who brings control and accuracy to the middle overs and India have plenty to think about.
The one thing they don’t want to be thinking about is the absence of Hardik Pandya. As Rahul Dravid, the coach, put it during his pre-match press conference, Pandya will be missed but there’s little India can do but make the most of the 14 they have.The problem with losing a player such as Pandya is that a team like India do not have a straight replacement.
To balance the playing eleven minus Pandya, India will have to make at least two changes. There are two ways they could go.
The first is to bring in Suryakumar Yadav for Pandya, keeping the number of proper batsmen the same, while swapping out Shardul Thakur for Mohammed Shami. This would ensure that they do not also miss Pandya the bowler.
The other, less likely option, given that the match is in Dharamsala, is getting Ravichandran Ashwin in for Shardul while
