India to Drop Bishnoi, Add Extra Pacer for 3rd T20I vs England Likely

India are expected to keep leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi out for the third T20I against England at Trent Bridge on Tuesday, July 7, as the team management looks to strengthen the bowling attack by adding another seamer. The move is expected after the leg-spinner’s costly outing in the second T20I at Old Trafford, which played a major role in India’s defeat.

Bishnoi conceded 29 runs in a single over during England’s chase, with Jacob Bethell hitting three sixes while the spinner also bowled two back-foot no-balls. The 17th over completely changed the game, helping England chase down India’s target of 191 with one over to spare.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who took three wickets for 40 runs, also suffered a shoulder injury while fielding, adding another headache to India’s bowling plans ahead of the Nottingham clash. Under new captain Shreyas Iyer, India have now lost three of their last four matches, including a disappointing 0-2 series defeat to Ireland.

Bishnoi’s Place Under Threat

Bishnoi, who had done India a huge disservice in the second T20I with three back-foot no-balls and a costly over of 29 runs, did not look steady even after taking 4 for 60 in Manchester.

There were also questions raised about whether the situation at Old Trafford really needed a third specialist spinner when Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy were already part of the playing XI.

The situation is such that Bishnoi is unlikely to play at Trent Bridge. The leg-spinner, who was also kept out by Rajasthan Royals during the last IPL season, is expected to miss this game.

India are likely to bring in an additional fast bowler, with Prince Yadav waiting in the wings against the famous Krishna. His ability to swing the ball and move it out of the pitch makes him a strong option, while the famous back-of-a-length bowling often proves easy for batsmen to attack in T20 cricket.

India’s Batting Under Pressure

Arshdeep Singh took three wickets in the previous game, including two in his opening over. However, he will also admit that Harry Brook’s 27-run innings played a key role in England’s successful chase of 191.

Although the third T20I will be played under lights, the Trent Bridge pitch is expected to be batsman-friendly. It could give Vaibhav Suryavanshi another chance to entertain the fans along with the in-form Abhishek Sharma.

After playing on batting-friendly pitches for the past six months, even during the IPL, India’s batsmen have struggled to cope with the extra bounce, some seam movement and the variations bowled by bowlers like Sam Curran.

Both captain Iyer and No. 3 batsman Ishan Kishan have contributed some runs, but neither has been able to completely control England’s bowling attack.

Tilak Verma played a useful role in the previous match, but most of it came against Jofra Archer’s pace. Against slower bowlers and Curran, he has found it more difficult to score runs during the middle overs.

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India Eye Series Revival

India scored 189 at Chester-le-Street and 190 at Old Trafford in the first two matches. Both times, those scores were 25 to 30 runs short of the required score.

Abhishek is the only batsman who has stuck to his aggressive approach, scoring 59 and 43 off just 24 balls in both innings. Now that his debut match is still to come, Suryavanshi will hope to take on the England bowlers more aggressively.

England’s spin trio of Liam Dawson, Will Jacques and Adil Rashid have focused on getting pace on the ball, while Chakravarthy, whose form has dipped since the start of the T20 World Cup, has been bowling noticeably faster.

India last played a T20I at Trent Bridge in 2022, when Suryakumar Yadav was at the peak of his form in the format. However, his brilliant 48-ball century was not enough to help India clinch the win.

With the series drawing to a close, India are expected to make at least one significant change to their playing XI in search of better balance. The inclusion of an additional seamer reflects the conditions expected at Trent Bridge, while the batsmen will also need to convert a promising start into a match-winning performance to level the series.

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