Sourav Ganguly column: Rejuvenated India look a better bet for T20s

The India-Australia contest moves into T20 mode on Tuesday and looking at both sides, one has a feeling that it will be a good contest. India’s recent performance in this format has not been good and it will be a good opportunity to change the trend.

Australia have also added firepower to their squad in the form of Shaun Tait while the inclusion of Shane Watson will add more strength to their bowling department.

India will have a spring in their steps after their convincing win at Sydney in last One-day International and will look to keep the momentum going. The batting was superb in all five ODIs with Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli in full flow and now, backed by Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and of course captain Dhoni, they should be up to the task of taking on the Aussie bowling.

Dhoni will have a lot of go-to bowlers in the T20s, with the likes of Raina, Yuvraj and Gurkeerat, so it will be interesting to see how he shapes his playing XI. I am surprised that Manish Pandey has not replaced Ajinkya Rahane with the selectors persisting with Gurkeerat. This is where selection comes in and with it, team-building. One has to reward an exceptional performance and it is sad to see him heading back home.

Jasprit Bumrah should be an automatic choice but who will back him, is the question ? Will it be Ashish Nehra along with Umesh Yadav or Rishi Dhawan? This is a big comeback for Nehra and I am sure, he will be very keen to make a mark. A good account in Australia will open up doors for him to be a part of the upcoming World Twenty20. He has been outstanding for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL and has deservedly got his chance. He may be 36 but will still do a good job with the four overs.

The spin department has Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh. It will not be easy for Dhoni to pick one from these, but I hope he will go into the games with two spinners.

Australia have a new captain leading them and Aaron Finch will miss Glenn Maxwell in the first game. He and David Warner are game changers, and his absence means the Aussies will miss his handy bowling in the middle-overs. They have a long batting line-up and they never depend on one player.

The Big Bash has thrown up a lot of talent and it will be a good contest at the Adelaide Oval, which one presumes will once again be a terrific batting strip.

(Gameplan)