New-look India struggling to find T20I rhythm

New-look squad

With senior players rested after the T20 World Cup, India has sent a younger, second-string team. Lots of debutants and IPL performers getting chances. Unfamiliar rut. India are used to dominating T20Is, even with backups. But this group has struggled to find consistency — batting collapses, bowling leaks, and close losses have piled up.

Transition pains

The team is trying new combinations and roles. That means lack of clarity in the middle order, death bowling, and finishing. Results have suffered as a result. Bigger picture. Selectors are using tours like Zimbabwe/WI to test depth for the next T20 World Cup cycle. Short-term losses, but long-term auditions.

It probably doesn't help that the management are trying to mould a side for 2028 under a new leader, in Shreyas Iyer, following the ruthless (but pragmatic) deposition of a T20 World Cup-winning captain, as well as manage such a competitive stable of players that the Player of the Tournament, Sanju Samson, finds himself out of the XI after three low scores. T20 is a fickle game but, after a run of 12 series wins a row ended in Ireland, defeat in Nottingham would put this one out of their reach with two to play.

For now and forever more, the full glare of the spotlight is on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Not that you would have known it from the way he strolled out to bat at Old Trafford. His brief stay saw him add Rajasthan Royals team-mate Jofra Archer to the long list of bowlers whose first ball he has hit for six, and there is every reason to expect that he will transfer his awesome hitting form from the IPL to India colours sooner rather than later.

Key takeaway:

It’s not a crisis, it’s a rebuild. But for a team that rarely loses T20I series with backups, being in a rut feels unfamiliar.

Trent Bridge used to be a T20 batting paradise, with its flat decks and short hits to the boundary - especially towards the Bridgford Road side of the ground. However, there has been a little bit more for the bowlers in recent years, with the average score batting first in the Blast this season around 165. Another heatwave is expected in the UK, but it won't be too hot in Nottingham on Tuesday, with a late-afternoon forecast for 25C.

Probable XI for both teams

Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue

Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar/Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy