The playing all-rounders over batters or bowlers approach doesn’t seem to be working too well for India in Australia. The visitors played two all-rounders in Melbourne, but neither justified the selection. Axar Patel batted at number 5 and scored 7 (12). Shivam Dube got a delayed entry to ensure he goes big, but the move went bust, 4 (2). Neither bowled a delivery in the match.

Why Axar Patel might be dropped

In favourable conditions, like in Asia, playing all-rounders works. That’s because both Axar and Shivam are great players of spin. In Axar’s case, he’s also an exceptional spinner, and such surfaces help him. In the ODI series, Axar showed he can be a handful even in Australia, but the left-arm spinner wasn’t used with the ball by Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir at the MCG.

Therefore, one wonders whether the tradeoff is worth it. Even the best of batters have found batting in Australia tough, so how can we expect Axar to do well? And when he isn’t expected to bowl, is there much use in playing him? You may ask, why not let Dube go?

Well, he’s a pace-bowling all-rounder. Considering how Australian pitches offer bounce, a tall bowler like him can be useful. Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy’s inclusion also plays a role in keeping Axar out. So, let’s assume he goes out; who comes in for him?

One of Rinku Singh & Arshdeep Singh to play?

There are just 2 options. Arshdeep Singh and Rinku Singh. Nitish Kumar Reddy isn’t fit. Jitesh Sharma doesn’t get the nod because Rinku is a left-hander, and we know how much Gambhir likes the right-left combination. Plus, Sanju Samson already plays as a wicketkeeper. Bringing in Washington Sundar for Axar doesn’t make any sense.

Now, who of Arshdeep or Rinku to select? That might come down to preference. Since the batting didn’t work in Melbourne, you might think of bringing Rinku. But then the bowling, especially the pacers, wasn’t great either. There will be a tradeoff again. We have seen Gambhir lean more towards batting depth, and therefore, Rinku might play, but Arshdeep has an equally strong case to make.

India T20I squad for Australia series

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vc), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy

Bench: Arshdeep Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar