Lucknow | The option of opening with Sanju Samson or the lure to field teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be head coach Gautam Gambhir's biggest headache as a confident Indian team, fresh from its Asian Games exploits take on a gutsy West Indies side in the opening T20 International here on Tuesday.
With a change in coaching personnel from VVS Laxman to Gambhir, there will certainly be a shift in strategic philosophy even though both coaches believe in batting depth till number 8.
But if one follows Gambhir's template closely, he wouldn't play both Samson and Sooryavanshi in the same eleven considering Abhishek Sharma is an automatic choice.
On tacky tracks on offer at Korogi Sports Park in Nisshin City, Laxman decided to play all three -- Sooryavanshi and world No. 1 T20 batter Abhishek Sharma opening the innings with Samson coming in at No.3.
This was done keeping the track in mind and need for those extra runs on a difficult surface. But on a featherbed of a track that Ekana Stadium in Lucknow promises to offer, Gambhir will once again be tempted to bring Samson back as an opener with the cushion of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy being available down the order.
Samson didn't look comfortable at No. 3 in the two games that he played but in sub-continental conditions, he scored couple of half-centuries in the last home T20I series against Afghanistan.
With Ishan Kishan, skipper Tilak Varma, hard-hitting Shivam Dube and Reddy already there in the middle-order along with Axar Patel, there is little chance that both Sooryavanshi and Samson will be a part of same playing eleven.
For coach Gambhir, another headache would be the pace attack which comprises seasoned Arshdeep Singh along with relatively inexperienced Delhi duo of Mayank Yadav (6 T20Is) and Prince Yadav (3 T20Is).
The spin department will be manned by Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. In case, Gambhir wants to shore up batting, then Naman Dhir, who has replaced Washington Sundar in the set-up will play instead of either Prince or Mayank.
It also remains to be seen whether Iyer uses Abhishek as a bowling option in the spin department with the left-arm spinner displaying his bowling skills with a few wickets at the Asian Games.
The series will also be a big test of Iyer's captaincy against a proper T20 side as he has the West Indies is considered a powerhouse in the format having won the T20 World Cup twice in 2012 and 2016.
Under Iyer's leadership, India have notched up T20 series wins against lower-ranked nations like Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.
But India will hold an edge over the West Indies as they defeated the Caribbeans in nine out of the last 10 games at home.
West Indies has a plethora of "gun for hire" freelancers in shortest format like Romario Shepherd, Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Akeal Hossain, all of whom are sought after in the Indian Premier League with loads of experience of playing in Indian conditions.
Under Shai Hope's leadership, the West Indies are a potent T20 side which has the capability to beat any side on their day.
Besides skipper Hope, West Indies' batting will largely depend on the likes of Hetmyer, Powell and opposition's No. 1 T20 batter Sherfane Rutherford.
West Indies have enough options in the department of all-rounders in the likes of Roston Chase, Keemo Paul, Powell and Shepherd.
West Indies bowling department will be spearheaded by CSK left-arm spinner Hosein and pacer Shamar Joseph. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who bowls both orthodox and wrist spin along with off-break of Chase will complement the attack.
Teams (from):
India: Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Naman Dhir, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Prince Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Sanju Samson (WK), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Mayank Yadav.
West Indies: Shai Hope (C, WK), Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Kamil Pooran, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Quentin Sampson, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Springer.
Match starts at 7:00PM
