Will Vaibhav Sooryavanshi get to play in inconsequential third T20I?

With the series already in bag, India might be tempted to move away from the established combination and give some game time to the awe-inspiring Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, among others, when they take on Afghanistan in the inconsequential third T20 International here on Thursday. Playing in familiar conditions, India have played like an unstoppable force, making the dangerous Afghanistan outfit look ordinary.

Having sealed the series on Tuesday night, India captain Shreyas Iyer said there could be a change in the combination for the final game at Ferozshah Kotla to give players on the bench much-needed time before they fly to Japan for the Asian Games beginning September 19.

The selections so far have made it clear that India are not willing to go out of the way to make room for Sooryavanshi, who made his debut on the tour of England in July when Sanju Samson was not in the best of form.

Now both Samson and Abhishek Sharma are in good touch and considering they both are one-format regulars, they would not want to be rested, leaving the management to make that call.

“We want all of them to get used to the wicket and the conditions and also get some practice. So, it would be a nice game to give opportunities to the players, especially who have been sitting out, and also change a little bit in the combination as well,” said Iyer after another dominating win. Another option to fit Sooryavanshi in the playing eleven would be to give Ishan Kishan a rest.

Kishan captained East Zone to the Duleep Trophy before linking up with the national squad. Samson has been performing the wicket-keeping duties in the ongoing series.

Also, the management would want Iyer and Tilak Varma to get some time in the centre, with the destructive top-three leaving little to do for the rest of the batters in the first two games.

With top three blowing away the opposition, the likes of Nitish Reddy and Shivam Dube are yet to bat in the series. On the bowling front, from the team’s point of view, it was heartening to see a fit Reddy again among the wickets on Tuesday. He is seen as a backup for injury-prone star Hardik Pandya, making him an important figure in the team’s plans going forward.