Linking India's Past and Future in T20s

The third T20I match against Zimbabwe raised several questions related to team selection and strategies adopted by India going forward in the format. While India won the game, confusing choices taken by the management have left observers wondering at the direction the team is heading.

India had played the third T20I with four recognised openers in the lineup - Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Sanju Samson. This brought little room for the talented Riyan Parag, who had only settled his credentials as a dependable finisher in the Indian T20 League. Playing four openers, pushing Gaikwad to the middle order, has been sending mixed signals regarding the team's strategy.

Gill acknowledged that it was disappointing not to post a score of more than 200 with the resources they had in their disposal. He said that the nature of the surface was "double-paced", which made the pace of the innings slow by some degrees. That, however, could very well turn out to be an aberration because only in the previous game (2nd T20I), India had made its highest T20I total here at the Harare Sports Club, where Abhishek Sharma blazed away to a hundred.

It was like "buying unnecessary insurance" when team management replaced Khaleel Ahmed with Sai Sudharsan despite a single defeat. The subsequent call of leaving out Riyan Parag, who has carved a niche at No. 4 in the Ind T20 League, and continuing with Gaikwad added to the confusion.

These selection calls are almost contrary to the very philosophy of aggressive, flexible, and intent-driven cricket which under Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had pulled India to the sureshot ways of World T20 League triumph. It is this attitude that Parag and Abhishek fit into, but the exclusion of the former in the Zimbabwe series has possibly left all confused.

Under Shubman Gill, he will have to keep forgetting that he has to make the messaging and roles clear to the players. The veteran hands around him, including new head coach Gautam Gambhir, shall be crucial in executing the vision and staying true to the very same aggressive template which did wonders for India during the World T20 League triumph recently.

At 24, Gill has already shown that he can bat precisely according to the team philosophy. His leadership will go on to be inspirational for this new generation of Indian cricketers who were groomed in the high-intensity environment of the Ind T20 League, who are supposed to carry on at their predecessors' left in the T20 format.

Now it is left to the team management to see that India continues to adhere to the path set up by Rohit and Kohli, and transitions in leadership and composition of the team do not dilute the aggressive and flexible approach that brings in dividends for the national side.