With Asia Cup secured, India’s next challenge is T20 World Cup 2026. Here are key focus areas ahead of Australia tour.
Team India have dominated T20Is this year, winning 11 games and losing just one. They are on a nine-match winning streak, and recently, lifted the 2025 Asia Cup, after beating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final.
However, India still have some problems to tackle ahead of the challenging bilateral T20I series against Australia Down Under, and the home series against South Africa and New Zealand.
The performance in these three series would give India the confidence ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup. So, what are the issues that India need to tackle ahead of the five-match T20I series against Australia Down Under?
Read More: Is Sanju Samson’s game suited for the middle order in T20 cricket?
Rotation of players in batting order
In the Asia Cup, India rotated players in the batting order for various reasons ranging from having perfect match-ups between their batters and the opponents’ bowlers, a left-right combination, using a particular batter as a floater.
Some experiments worked, while some failed and a few were downright silly. For example, in the game against Oman, captain Suryakumar Yadav didn’t come out to bat at all even when the eighth wicket had fallen down as he gave the bowlers a chance to flex their batting might in the middle.
In the Super Four game against Bangladesh, Shivam Dube was promoted up the order to No. 3 to tackle spin bowling, but could manage just 2 runs. Sanju Samson, who was once opening the batting for India in T20Is, saw himself batting at various positions ranging from No. 3 to No. 8 during the series. However, Tilak Varma showed good flexibility to score runs at any position he went out to bat.
However, these experiments did not prove costly as India played teams which were not up to their quality. But come Australia Down Under, India will have to put such experiments at bay as one error could prove to be a game-changer, the difference between victory and defeat. The competitive Australia side could just find a loophole in this rotational batting policy and take the game away from India.
India’s thinking is that every batter, except the openers, should be able to bat at any position. But constant changing and chopping the batting order brings instability and lack of role clarity. This could hurt India in the long run as accountability would be low due to the constant experimentation of roles in the batting order.
Sanju Samson, who was relegated to No. 8 in the game against Bangladesh, said he is fine playing all roles the team demands and cited the example of Malayalam superstar Mohan Lal who plays all roles with aplomb. “So, I can’t come in and say I want to do the ‘hero’ role every time. I can do the villain role, and I can also do the Joker role for my country,” he said.
However, India must put a stop to this policy as they would need quality batting at the top to tackle the pace-friendly wickets Down Under. Promoting bits-and-pieces players up the order in Aussie conditions could prove to be a debacle and might cost India the match or the series.
Read More: Does Shubman Gill deserve to be India’s T20I opener after an underwhelming Asia Cup 2025?
Bowling combination: Who partners Bumrah?
In the Asia Cup final, India fielded just one specialist pacer in Jasprit Bumrah with all-rounder Shivam Dube sharing the new ball with him after Hardik Pandya was out injured. Dube bowled decently in the slow tracks of UAE, but Aussie conditions could see him being a fodder for the opponent batters.
India need specialist bowlers to partner Bumrah in Australia. Arshdeep Singh who got just a few games in the Asia Cup, should be partnering Bumrah as he is one of the best new ball bowlers for India. Arshdeep’s accuracy with the new and old ball would complement Bumrah and give India the advantage in both the powerplay and the death overs.
However, India also need to find other pacers who could be back up to Bumrah and Arshdeep or play as a third seamer in the XI, in addition to Hardik Pandya in the line-up.
India need to take a call on whether Mohammed Siraj or Prasidh Krishna, both having had great seasons in the recent IPL, should be brought back into the T20I fold, especially to make the maximum use of pace-friendly conditions in Australia. Harshit Rana does not fit in the T20I scheme of things as his performance falls short of expectations.
Read More: Suryakumar Yadav’s average & strike rate see remarkable dip since assuming captaincy
Gill, SKY’s batting woes
Captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted that he is “out of runs, and not out of form”. However, stats suggest otherwise. The captain has just managed 100 runs at an average of 11.11 and strike rate of 105.26 in 12 games this year. Also, it seems captaincy is putting pressure on SKY, the batter. His average as captain has nosedived to 25.20 compared to his average of 43.40 as a pure batter.
However, considering India’s success in T20Is under SKY, BCCI would persist with him in the hope he finds runs quickly. SKY needs to get back to the drawing boards and find out if any technical flaw is affecting his batting or is there any extra pressure due to captaincy. The batting-friendly wickets in Australia might just favour SKY the batter as he loves to play his shots on wickets where the ball comes nicely onto the bat.
Shubman Gill, on the other hand, was included in the T20I scheme of things, and handed the opener’s role to partner Abhishek Sharma in the Asia Cup. Meanwhile, regular opener Samson since the 2024 World T20 was pushed down the order. However, Gill flattered to deceive he could make only 127 runs at an average of 21.16 and strike rate of 151.19 in the Asia Cup. India need to make a call and restrict Gill to Test Cricket, where he is the designated captain, and also ODIs, where his game is best suited.
If India take this tough call, they need to decide who should partner Abhishek at the top. Should it be Yashasvi Jaiswal whose strike rate and batting style is as good as Abhishek? The two southpaws can potentially light the stadium on fire with their aggressive batting style and stroke play. Or, should Samson be given back his opener’s spot where he made three tons in the last one year.
Overall, India have enough resources to tackle these problems, and come out better equipped to handle the challenges Down Under. A winning momentum in the upcoming T20I series will m be right confidence booster ahead of India’s defence in the 2026 World T20.
Read More: Tilak Varma’s 69* in chasing cause in Asia Cup 2025 Final proves his utility as a finisher
