As India defeated England by 7 wickets in their first warm-up game of the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Monday, it was evident that the team regrouped well following the completion of the IPL less than 72 hours ago by dishing out a clinical show. KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan smoked half-centuries, while Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah looked lethal with the ball.
While these were a few hits, there were certain misses as well. R Ashwin, despite bowling economically, went wicketless. His spin partner, Rahul Chahar picked up a wicket but gave away 43 runs. But the two biggest concerns were Hardik Pandya not bowling and Bhuvneshwar Kumar appearing lacklustre. The fast bowler conceded 54 off four overs, bowling three wides without picking up a wicket.
Also read: Rahul, Shami tick the form box in India's warm-up win over England
Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel feels that based on what transpired, it is unlikely that India would persist with Hardik and that there is a good chance of Shardul Thakur getting a look in when Virat Kohli's team starts its T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 24.
"I don't think Hardik is going to bowl in the first few games looking at the way Virat Kohli has used only five bowlers. Yes, I'm worried about Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He looks in the kind of form which he had in the IPL, where he took just six wickets, but yeah, he looked out of rhythm, almost as if didn't practice. We might just see Shardul Thakur in the next game. It might be a combination that we might see," Parthiv said during the mid-innings interval.
{{/usCountry}}"I don't think Hardik is going to bowl in the first few games looking at the way Virat Kohli has used only five bowlers. Yes, I'm worried about Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He looks in the kind of form which he had in the IPL, where he took just six wickets, but yeah, he looked out of rhythm, almost as if didn't practice. We might just see Shardul Thakur in the next game. It might be a combination that we might see," Parthiv said during the mid-innings interval.
{{/usCountry}}Although Pandya did not bowl, he had a short but entertaining stay in the middle. He remained unbeaten on 12 off 10 balls hitting a couple of fours as India chased down 189 with an over to spare.