India vs Netherlands T20 World Cup: 3 Changes India can make for IND vs NED match

India vs Netherlands: India had a terrific start to their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign. They defeated their arch-rivals Pakistan in a last-ball thriller at the MCG on the back of a miraculous batting effort by Virat Kohli. It was probably the greatest T20I innings ever played and one of the most eventful matches in a T20 World Cup ever.

Despite that match being such a confidence booster for the morale of the Indian team for their journey ahead, that match also wide-opened certain flaws and weaknesses that the Indian team possesses. Coach Dravid and Captain Rohit Sharma will be keen to address those issues before going to the next match. As implied by Rohit before the World Cup, this Indian team is quite flexible in their approach and may not stick to just one playing XI or plan for every match. Keeping this in mind, let’s see the 3 possible changes that India can make for their next match against the Netherlands.

1. Chahal over Ashwin

Despite Arshdeep giving India a dream start against Pakistan by dismissing Babar and Rizwan cheaply, Pakistan went on to post an above-par total. The main reason behind that was the partnership Shan Massod and Ifthikar had in the middle overs. Indian bowlers and Ashwin in particular was defensive in his approach in the middle overs and that allowed that partnership to flourish. This is something India would want to correct moving forward. And the most suitable option for that is Yuzvendra Chahal. He is a regular wicket-taker for India in middle overs and could be trusted with that job. And with the opposition being the Netherlands, India need not worry about the extra batting depth that Ashwin could’ve given in this India vs Netherlands encounter.

2. Attacking mindset in the powerplay

As seen earlier, India was quite conservative and defensive in their batting approach in the powerplays against Pakistan. Indian openers, as usual, struggled against the moving ball of Pakistani pacers, and their counter-defensive mechanisms to negate those initial overs without taking much risks didn’t work either. This approach was quite contrasting to the high-risk attacking mindset approach, that Rohit Sharma was emphasizing ever since the T20 World Cup in 2021. That has yielded team India immense success in the bilaterals since the 2021 T20 World Cup. And it would be better if India continue with that approach without being conservative in the ICC events.

3. Rishabh Pant over Axar in Sydney

India vs Netherlands will be played at Sydney Cricket Ground. The SCG is a proper batting paradise and has seen the most high-scoring games in this T20 World Cup. With the opposition being the Netherlands and with the conditions favouring batting, India could replace Axar with Rishabh to increase the batting powers, provided they are choosing Chahal as their lone spinner. The fact that Axar just bowled 1 over in the last match and didn’t have much of a contribution may also force such a decision. With Hardik fully fit and bowling 4 overs, Axar’s need in the side reduces especially against the minnows Netherlands. And not to forget, Rishabh loves batting in Australia.