IND Vs ENG T20: Will KL Rahul Be Dropped From The Playing XI? Three Changes That Kohli Can Make In The Team For 4th T20I

The fourth T20I is going to be a do-or-die match for India. The hosts are walking on a fine rope that could lead to an embarrassing home defeat. How can it be avoided?

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India vs England 4^th T20I is going to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. After losing the 3^rd T20I despite a decent total on board, team India will be looking to make a few changes in the team and find a balance in the playing eleven. KL Rahul’s form has been a cause of concern, he has scored 1, 0 and 0 runs in the first three matches of the series, respectively.

India’s top order batting was rightly criticized but the ordinary bowling by Indian bowlers went unnoticed in the process. In this article, we discuss what changes Virat Kohli can make in the playing eleven for the upcoming 4^th T20I.

Shikhar Dhawan/Suryakumar Yadav in place of KL Rahul: This can be one change that Virat Kohli can make in the side. Although Virat and team management has backed Rahul, it would be difficult for him to maintain his position in the side. Kohli can bring in Dhawan to make a straight swap with KL. The other option also includes brining in Suryakumar Yadav and play him in the middle order and open the innings with Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma. I don’t think there’s any way of playing Dhawan and Ydav together, unless they drop Shreyas Iyer, which is not a very probable thing.

Rahul Chahar in place of Yuzvendra Chahal: The wicket-taking ability of Chahal is not a secret anymore, but let’s face it. The bowler gives away too many runs too often. He has already given away 119 runs in the 12 overs that he has bowled in the series. His T20I economy is 8.4 which is in no way an ideal. Chahal has the trust of Captain Kohli, but Chahar has proven in the IPL while playing for Mumbai Indians that not only can he pick wickets, but also stop the run flow in the middle overs.

Navdeep Saini in place of Shardul Thakur: Well, this is the most unlikely of the three changes mentioned as Thakur hasn’t been extremely poor. But, he has failed to threaten the batsmen at the top of the order. On the other hand, the tall Navdeep Saini has the ability to pick wickets in the power-play. He can help create pressure early on in the innings.

Well, with Virat Kohli as captain, nothing can be predicted. There won’t be any changes in the team for all we know and still India might end up winning. That is just the nature of how T20 is. The 4^th India vs England T20I will be played on 18 March 2021 at 7 pm, IST.