IND vs ENG | India got their combinations wrong; Rohit shouldn’t have been rested, states VVS Laxman

While England lost the Test series comfortably by a margin of 3-1, with their batsmen being tested by a spin trial. However, in the five-match T20I series, India were instead troubled by the visiting pacers, who had broken the Indian scoring rate in the middle-overs. The visitors had employed just one spinner in their arsenal, as opposed to India’s three spinners, which ultimately resulted in them restricting the hosts down to a below-par total. 

Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman reckoned that India got their bowling combination wrong on the night, which ultimately resulted in a loss for them. He added that while Hardik Pandya was there to bowl as the third seamer, it would have been better for the hosts to have picked another pacer on the aiding conditions. 

"I think India also got their bowling combination wrong," Laxman said, reported Times of India. 

"Even though Hardik Pandya has started bowling, they would have been better off with an additional seamer instead of a third spinner. There was no dew on Friday night; but listening to both the captains at the toss, it was clear they were wary of dew as the match went deeper,” he added.

Laxman also insisted that the additional spinner - in the form of Axar Patel - was almost superfluous, especially in conditions that weren’t offering any sort of help for the spinners. 

"In any case, this track bore no resemblance to the dry deck on offer for the Test matches in Ahmedabad, so the extra spinner was almost superfluous," he added.

From the batting perspective, Virat Kohli shocked the Indian fans, when he announced that Indian opener Rohit Sharma was rested for the first T20I, with Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul as the openers. He also hoped that Rohit returns to the side immediately. 

"Especially when you are playing the best team in the world, it’s imperative to put out your strongest side. While the idea of giving game-time to Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul is laudable, the in-form Rohit Sharma should have played in the opening game. I’d love to see Rohit return to the side immediately," he added.